Beyond Smallville: MHX Geneseo
by gardy77
Summary: New CLaura! This is my newest Fan Fic. MHX Geneseo is a crossover between Smallville CLois and Laura Lake / Gold Wing. Young Laura struggles to understand how she acquired her powers. She and Clark uncover a clandestine plot to create Meta humans.
1. Chapter 1: MHX Geneseo

Here's my latest fan fic, this Alt. Universe story covers the time period after Clark and Lana broke up and before Clark and Lois get together.

Laura Lake/Gold Wing is my own creation, as is Marcus Worthington.

I don't own anything relating to DC Comics or Smallville.

_Laura Lake/Gold Wing/Clois Crossover_

**MHX:Geneseo** - _Early 2010 AU_

_What if Clark and Lana never got together? How about Clark and Lois? _

In another version of Time Shards, the world faces a different type of reality. We thought we knew everything, we were wrong. We are not alone. Clark Kent is living proof of that. We as a people need to think multi-dimensionally. - _Marcus Worthington, Chronicler of Days -_ _Shard of Mystery_.

Teaser: _From Beyond Smallville: Gold Wing_.

Eighteen year old Laura Lake, casually strolled into the cave as she'd done a hundred times before. The two golden idols she'd found recently, yielded no further clues into why the Loracite existed. It flowed freely from below the caves, likely from an underground hot spring.

Laura wasn't a geologist, but logically, the Loracite deposit heralded from below Crater Lake's basin. The unusual mineral from which she drew her power, had never been catalogued on Earth before. Laura felt the familiar adrenaline rush as she waded through about six inches of Loracite infused water.

Within the Loracite, the young super hero named Gold Wing, felt the barely controllable energy burst. It took huge amounts of concentration for her to master the mineral, which had reorganized her DNA. Was the Loracite put here purposely, to create a new, allegedly superior form of life one day?

That was one of the myriad of questions that her best friend, and self-proclaimed geek, Tim Servo, had been wrestling with. Right now, Laura was distracted by her eyes, which suddenly felt odd. What she couldn't see was that her pupils had dilated, and turned an unusual shade of purple.

Laura made her way to the secret room where she'd first found the idols, and the hole in the cave wall which allowed the pure yellowish Loracite to pour freely into the cavern like a tiny waterfall. Today would be an unusual day for the raven haired teen beauty. A day that would change her life.

Squirreled away in the upper levels of the craggy cave were two young sets of eyes peering down at her. Laura hadn't noticed them yet. Her super sensitive hearing did pick up some pebbles scrabbling down a short incline just ahead of her, in a smaller antechamber.

"Hello?" Laura called into the darkness of the cave. She listened for a response, but none came. Her own voice echoed back to her. After a moment, the young super hero went back to studying the ancient Tekamah Native American Indian drawings, scattered on every wall throughout the cave.

She quickly flipped on her cell phone to contact Tim Servo, and catalog the myriad of multicolored pictographs of varying size and subject matter. Somewhere on these walls is a clue... she mused.

**MHX Geneseo** Chapter1: _Prying Eyes_

Scene: _A series of caves twenty miles from Falcon Claw, Nebraska_.

Laura walked slowly towards the noise. It was then that her cell phone rang. "Pretty good reception in a cave." She commented as she flipped it on to answer. "How are you my sweet?" It was her best friend Tim Servo's voice. "Just fine, Tim Ster." Laura answered.

"I just wanted to let you know that your Loracite possesses some radioactive properties." Tim explained. "Terrific." Laura grumbled. "Now what, my butt's going to glow in the dark?" She sniped. "Not unless it mixes with phosphorescent algae." Tim deadpanned.

"The radioactivity level is low, roughly equivalent to being nuked by a microwave for four minutes." Tim made the comparison. "That equates to five hours of intense exposure. Assuming your life span exponentially increases, untreated, you'll die in one hundred seventy seven years."

Laura laughed. "Bummer! Here I was just getting started with my life." She quipped. "So, how come I'm a mutant?" Tim shrugged. "The only evidence that I've found is that the Loracite reorganized your DNA. The good news is that you can limit its use to some degree."

"You mean like taking a prescribed amount, like a designer drug or something?" Laura's eyes still showed violet purple. "Exactly." Tim confirmed. "You can limit your Loracite intake as best suits your mood. There will be repercussions of course, like you won't be as fast, as strong, or as indestructible as if you'd given yourself a full dose."

"Awesome!" Laura smiled. "You mean I can still settle down, get married, have two point three children, a BMW, and one point four dogs?" Tim was silent. "I'm afraid not, Laura. It's very unlikely that you will be able to have children." He said seriously. "Oh." She was disappointed.

"Keep in mind that my research is preliminary." Tim qualified. "By the time I get to Berkeley, you know, the California University? I may be able to access their high tech laboratories, and confirm or refute my current hypothesis."

"It will be a few years, then?" Laura gulped. "Before we know for sure." Tim nodded. "Yes. I applied to Berkeley, and may be accepted next fall." Laura sighed. "That will have to do, then. Thanks Tim." She gazed into the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of what had caused the recent noise, pebbles scrabbling, and a bit of splashing in the yellow Loracite creek.

"Also, I've determined that some of the Tekamah Native American Indian drawings have a specific pattern." Tim continued. "The prophecy states that there will be a coming destruction of Mother Earth, to which they refer to as 'Mata Enduk.'"

"Great!" Laura muttered. "I hate apocalyptic graffiti." Tim chuckled as he read the newest translations from his laptop screen. "Do you see the ring of figures assembled around a burning tree?" Laura flashed the light on a dry cave wall across from her. "Yup. I got it."  
"That's known as the City of Undead." Tim explained. "Swell." Laura commented. "Can't they write about beautiful sunny days, birds singing, and fluffy bunnies gently gnawing on clover?" Tim snickered. "What fun would that be?" He quipped.

"A city?" Laura echoed. "How would the Tekamah even know what a city was? Aren't these drawings over a thousand years old?" Tim agreed that he was puzzled. "They could've heard us palefaces talking about an existing European city, or a colony in the New World."

"Okay, I'll buy that." Laura admitted. "The problem is that a thousand years ago puts us at about 1010 A.D. So who was here in America before Columbus or any other colonists?" Tim sighed. "That, my dear, is the multimillion dollar question."

"Speculation revolves around the Vikings from up north." Tim postulated. "They could've gotten into the waterways like the great lakes, by mistake. Or the Vikings could've made inroads into America far deeper than anyone originally thought."

"This is really fascinating, Tim." Laura remarked. "I can try and dust the drawings off a bit." She offered. "Do, or do not. There is no try." Tim joked. "Yeah, thanks Yoda." Laura retorted. She was distracted from any further investigation by a loud noise up ahead of her.

"Tell me you heard that." Laura spoke softly into the cell phone. "Loud and clear, my maven of mischief." Tim affirmed. "Maybe I startled a bear or a cougar?" Laura guessed. "In the middle of Nebraska? I doubt that." Tim commented. "Be careful. Is your Loracite power up to speed?"

"Yeah, I should be alright." Laura reassured him. "Why are you here?" A high-pitched female voice said. Laura whirled to face…a young girl? Laura had assumed her favorite attack position, relaxing quickly. A shadow of a girl appeared above her atop a craggy ledge.

Laura's flashlight beam played on the girl's face. She winced at the bright light. The girl's eyes seemed to glow red. Laura was sure it was a trick of the flashlight beam making its way through the damp musty air of the cave. "Who are you? What're you doing here?" Laura snapped.

"I am called Solara." She replied nervously. "That's the name my friends gave me. Don't you know that these caves are sacred?" Laura shrugged. "Next time, someone ought to post a sign." She said dryly. "They're sacred to whom?"

Solara couldn't have been more than nine or ten years old, in Laura's estimation. She couldn't tell if the girl had dark skin, or was just filthy from prowling around the cave. "I don't know." Solara answered. "That's what Strife Havoc keeps telling us."

Laura scowled. "Strife Havoc? That's an unusual name. You said us?" She pointed out. Solara probably wasn't a descendant of the Tekamah, as far as she knew, that particular race of Native Americans hadn't been seen in this area for a hundred years.

Solara made no effort to approach her. A second, smaller shadow appeared next to the child. Laura switched her flashlight on the new arrival. This girl appeared to be about seven or eight years old. She peered down at Laura from the ledge.

"Are you guys lost?" Laura softened her tone. She thought it odd that two young children would be in the caves alone. There could've been animals, or snakes around, not to mention that the girls could get injured wandering around the caves. Neither girl had a light source that Laura could determine. Perhaps there was another entrance to the Loracite cave? She mused.

"Don't talk to her, Solara, she's evil!" The younger girl warned. "I am not evil!" Laura said with some irritation in her voice. "Yes you are!" The smaller girl argued. "I heard you reading the walls. Only spirits can read the walls of the ancients." Laura sighed.

"You didn't answer my question? Are you from the reservation?" Laura pressed. "No. We are from Geneseo." Solara responded indignantly. "Geneseo?" Tim's tinny voice said aloud.

"That's over thirty miles from the caves." Tim informed her. "Why does that box talk?" The younger girl questioned. Laura gasped. The kids didn't know what a cell phone was? "Did your parents drop you off?" She inquired with some worry.

"No." Solara volunteered. "Our parents got sick and died." Laura gulped. This was not good at all, she thought sourly. Tim was already flipping his nimble fingers across his laptop keyboard. He was pulling up any information on Geneseo that he could.

Either the girls were lying, and possibly abandoned, or they weren't, Laura mused. "Come down here so I can have a look at you." She tempted. Solara reluctantly stood up. "No! Don't do it! She'll eat you!" The smaller girl protested. "I'm not going to eat you." Laura smiled.

Solara bravely walked along the ledge. She seemed to have no fear of falling. The younger girl followed at a slower pace, but showed no interest in the ten-foot plunge below her. "I'm Laura, by the way." The Gold Wing offered.

"Be careful." Laura urged as she shadowed the girls' progress, meeting them at an incline. They seemed confident in their descent. Laura assumed that the girls were used to playing in the caves, but Tim's observations rang in her head. Geneseo was thirty miles away!

Finally the children stood before her. Solara had distinctly Native American features, yet the other girl didn't. "So, what's your name?" Laura focused on the younger girl. "Sedna." She replied warily, sticking close to the older girl.

"Who watches you?" Laura grilled them. "Watches us what?" Solara asked. "Who takes care of you?" Laura tried. "No one really." Solara responded as she seated herself comfortably on a craggy butte about three feet off the cave floor. She seemed fearless and relaxed.

"No one?" Laura was skeptical. "Just Terre Collin." Sedna offered, seeing no immediate threat from Laura. "He's kind of like our leader. I don't like him. He's always bossing me around. Sedna do this, Sedna do that. I'm sure. Like, he's not the boss of me!" She rambled.

Laura chuckled, noting that Sedna seemed educated, so she assumed that the younger girl hadn't been on her own for long. Her pale brown skin tone gave her a decidedly European appearance. Laura guessed that her parents were likely Italian or Greek.

"What if you don't listen to him?" Laura asked carefully. She wanted to make sure that a molester or something hadn't held the girls. "He gets all mad and his eyes glow!" Sedna replied. "He shoots fire from his hands!" Solara added. "He does not!" Sedna argued.

"Yeah he does! I seen him!" Solara defended. Either way, Laura didn't like where this was going. "Tim, did you get that?" She said into the phone. Solara and Sedna looked horrified. "Yes." Tim stated. "I don't like this at all." Laura added as the girls backed away.

"You're going to like this even less." Tim said. "Geneseo was listed as an agricultural town. Its sole industry was crop production and improvement, genetic improvement. Ideally, the Ag Lab that was its central business specialized in genetic manipulation of food products."

"Geneseo never had more than five or six hundred residents, all or most of which, were employed at the Ag Lab. Seven years ago, the lab decided that their experiment was a failure. Their government funding was pulled, and the Ag Lab was shuttered. Here's the kicker: Rowland Chemicals bought acres of unwanted and allegedly useless land." Tim informed her.

"The tagline on the article says that the townspeople moved away, leaving Rowland Chemical to supposedly dismantle and resell the Ag Lab." Tim continued. "You think that Solara and Sedna are children that were left behind?" Laura asked as the girls huddled closer to one another.

"That's quite possible." He agreed. "Wait! Here girls, see it's just a phone." Laura handed the slim line cell phone to Solara. Sedna cautiously peered up at it. "Tim, say hi to Solara." Laura urged. "Hello Solara, how are you?" He inquired. "Fine." Solara said into the phone.

"I've never seen a phone without wires before." Solara commented. Sedna relaxed, peering into the small screen. "Do you have a lot of phones at home?" Tim asked the curious girl. "Yeah, but Terre says that they don't work, and who would we call?" Solara responded.

Laura swallowed hard. She was starting to get a picture, one that she didn't like. "Who's Terre?" Tim wondered. "Terre Collin, supposedly someone who takes care of the girls." Laura handed the phone to Sedna, who stared at it, and then put it to her ear, mimicking Solara.

Immediately, Tim began to research that name. It sounded a bit unusual to him, like there might be pieces missing to it. He would try a variety of searches, but all would take time. Laura heard a new set of footsteps padding toward her. They weren't trying to be quiet at all.


	2. Chapter 2: Treasure Trove

MHX 2

Chapter 2

_Treasure Trove_

"Sollie! Seddie! Guess what? I fried a big hairy spider with my eyes!" A small boy yelled as he nimbly approached them, sliding fearlessly across the slick damp cave floor. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Tim asked as Sedna, losing interest, handed the phone back to Laura.

"Yes." Laura confirmed absently. "What the hell have we stumbled onto, Tim?" He silently listened for the next discussion, as his laptop continued to research all the info they had to this point. "Oh, hello!" The boy, no more than six or seven said, glancing up at Laura.

"So, who are you?" Laura probed. "Robert…but my friends call me Sparks." The boy shifted uneasily as the girls backed away about a foot. "Did you really fry the spider, Sparks?" Laura asked calmly, dreading the answer. "Heck yeah! It was a big ugly one, too."

Robert, proud of his accomplishment, immediately smiled. The boy had defined European features, complete with freckles, red hair, and light colored skin. "How did you all get here?" Laura tried to keep the kids talking. "Through that wall." Robert pointed to the rear of the cavern. The yellowish water kept pouring in steadily.

"How can you go through a wall?" Laura asked, baiting the children to show her. Little Robert smirked and gestured for them to follow. He led them to the waterfall wall, stepped behind the Loracite stream, and shoved an ugly greenish blue rock backwards.

A passageway opened up. It was roughly two foot high by three foot wide, the perfect size for a small child to crawl through. Laura could barely squeeze into it, allowing the children to enter first. The passage was about ten feet deep, and a bright light shone through the end of it.

The children nimbly climbed out of the other side, Laura quickly joined them, waiting a moment until she could straighten to her full nearly six-foot height. Before them, were a number of valuable looking artifacts made of gold, silver, jade, and marble. Four antique looking torches lined the wall. Someone had to have started them, possibly Robert, if what he said held true.

The children had obviously been playing with the treasure trove. Sedna grabbed a greenish jade colored elephant and pretended to make it gallop across the rocks. To the children, the objects were simply playthings. Expensive looking artifacts were scattered across the antechamber.

Solara grabbed a gold dragon, about a foot in length, and made it climb up a wall, making growling noises. Robert hurried to the sight of the recently departed spider, and sure enough, the good-sized arachnid was completely burned, a smoldering black spot on some rocks.

Laura gulped, fully aware that she'd stumbled onto something greater. "See, I toasted the spider with my eyes." Robert boasted. Laura located a hunk of clay that held some type of green plant. "Robert, can you do it again, meaning burn the plant with your eyes?" She challenged.

"Okay." The little boy stared at the plant for a moment. "Wait, I can't if someone's watching me." He shifted nervously. Laura pretended to cover her eyes with her hands. Twin orange beams seemed to burst from his eyes. Robert blasted the plant into a burning clump of dust in no time. Laura, of course, had glanced between her fingers at the display. She suddenly wished that she hadn't.

"Tim?" Laura shook her cell phone. It had gone dead. "Terrific." Sedna had climbed up some rocks and knelt just above Laura, still playing with her jade elephant. "Solara, how did you all get here?" She put the question to the older girl again. "On the river." Solara pointed to a lower section of the cavern that Laura hadn't noticed earlier.

"On the river?" Laura echoed as she carefully walked over to the precipice, and glanced down. Sure enough, a free flowing river ran about twenty feet below them. "This river leads to Geneseo?" Laura questioned. "Uh huh." Solara confirmed as she put down her gold dragon.

"Did you swim here?" Laura was skeptical. "Nope. There are little rafts going back and forth all the time." Solara joined Laura, gazing into the ravine. "How can the river flow both ways?" The elder teen asked. "I don't know. It just does. There are rocks separating the ways." Solara sounded like she was getting crabby and tired.

"Are you kids ready to go home?" Laura asked. "Yeah, I'm hungry." Robert said. "Do you want to show me where you live?" Laura fished. "Sure." Solara quickly agreed. "No!" Sedna protested. "Terre will get mad!" Laura grinned evilly. "You let me worry about Terre." She assured them.

_The River Styx_

Laura tried her cell phone again. Silence. She considered Robert, and the only people she knew that could shoot fire from their eyes were Clark and Kara Kent. Was Robert Kryptonian? She debated silently. Suddenly, Robert and Sedna laughed and jumped off the precipice edge.

"Wait!" Laura yelped. "You'll get hurt!" The children paid her no mind, vaulting into the twenty-foot deep ravine. Laura shone her flashlight towards the river's edge. She heard two large splashes and saw Robert and Sedna bobbing up and down laughing and splashing each other.

Laura breathed a sigh of relief. "The water's warm and nice!" Sedna called up as she swam for a bit encircling Robert. Solara, dragon in hand, chose to take the route of the worn out rocks to make her way down. Laura gasped as Solara leapt from ledge to ledge like a monkey.

That is definitely not normal for a human, Laura thought. In seconds, Solara was on the silt bar next to the underground river. Sedna and Robert continued to splash around. Laura vaulted the twenty or so foot drop straight down, landing roughly near Solara.

"Wow!" Solara's eyes seemed to glow brightly. "That was a great jump!" Laura nodded, and examined the river closely. It wasn't a naturally occurring water flow. "It's an Aqueduct!" Laura thought out loud. She could see two distinctly separated currents.

The river's bottom, probably about eight feet from where they were standing, was man made, complete with decorations of fanciful creatures along its sides. The creatures were unfamiliar, but varied in style from winged feathered lizards to colorful lumbering animals.

Laura shone her flashlight along the cavern's top, and sure enough, many of the fanciful creatures decorated the smooth ceiling. As her eyes flared purple, Laura noted that the surrounding rock features were adorned similarly. This was no ordinary cavern! She mentally exclaimed.

"This looks like an ancient temple, or gathering place." Laura muttered, confusing the children even more. In moments, a hollowed out log, roughly nine feet long skittered past, bouncing a bit as the current grew rougher. "See, I told you we take boats back home." Robert pointed out.

A few moments later another log, hollowed in much the same manner, but not an exact replica of the preceding one, floated near them. "Can we go?" Robert urged, growing antsy. Sedna and Solara nodded nervously. Laura held the log raft steady for them, as the kids piled in.

Laura gingerly climbed in behind them, and the log raft bounced against the river bottom. "You're too heavy!" Sedna criticized. "Excuse me?" Laura pretended to be offended, silencing the young girl. "No one this big ever rides in the rafts." Solara explained.

"No adults use this river?" Laura prodded. "Adults? There are no adults in Geneseo." Sedna offered, startling Laura, who said nothing for the moment. Solara sighed, like she was annoyed. "I still say that Terre or Strife Havoc will be mad." Laura snorted. "Don't worry, I'll have a talk with them."

The makeshift kayak continued along the side of the aqueduct that led away from the original caves. Laura noted that as the raft floated on, it picked up speed, and the river water grew deeper. "This is like the mythological River Styx." She made pleasant conversation with the kids.

"Who?" Robert demanded. Laura explained about the legendary river that led departed souls into the underworld, forgetting that she might scare the children with the Greek mythos. "Ooh! Neat!" Robert surprisingly critiqued her story. The girls were less impressed, becoming quiet.

Laura observed that the cavern grew narrower as they moved onward. She wondered why there was so much light in the underground thoroughfare. A moment later she saw the reason.

Below them, along the aqueduct's edges, were phosphorescent algae. The species had multiplied rapidly without many predators this far below ground. Laura also wondered why she'd seen no signs of fish along their route. Logically, the aqueducts must be a self-sustaining ecosystem, she mused. The log ride clipped along at a steady swift pace.

She watched several more log rafts heading back the way they'd come, thankfully without any unusual passengers. Still, something had to be maintaining the aqueduct system, she reasoned, or someone. Robert's eyes were growing heavy, and he was on the verge of nodding off.

The little boy curled up next to Laura. She reddened, Awww! They're cute when they're quiet, she mentally quipped. The girls still seemed nervous, like they knew that they were doing something wrong. Laura noted that some more light was entering the aqueduct route.

The logs were floating slightly uphill. That makes sense, she observed. Soon, the end of the aqueduct way was in sight. Bright sunlight filtered in from cracks and crevasses above them. "We're almost home." Solara announced. Laura checked her watch. The whole trip had taken them less than a half an hour.

The ride became more bumpy and unstable, and the makeshift kayak nearly tipped over on its side, but Laura was able to steady it with her balanced leg power. Finally, they popped out into the open sky, as the sun beat down on them. The girls shielded their eyes, and Robert began to stir. His eyes opened as the log raft slowed to a crawl.

Before Laura lay a barren landscape, devoid of any structure. The girls stretched leisurely, and carefully climbed out of the log raft. Robert knelt in the raft, as Laura steadied it. He deftly stepped out, and Laura followed. They stepped onto dry land, the ground covered only in greenish brown grass and weeds. A few trees towered in the distance.

"How far to Geneseo?" Laura shielded her eyes from the sun. "Not too long." Sedna reassured her, getting a better grip on her jade elephant. The children led Laura across a thicket, where they encountered a beaten up old wire fence, and a few fence posts that were rusted and out of position. Laura gasped as she noticed a worn out sign torn out of the ground.

The sign read: "Government Installation, Trespassers will be Arrested". The kids ignored the sign and walked right past it. Laura tried to call Tim again, now that they were above ground. Naturally, the cell didn't register. All she received was an out of range error message.

Laura knew that was a lie, because her cell was equipped to roam for hundreds of miles. Something was interfering with the phone, like a dampening field. In a few minutes, the thicket cleared, and Laura saw a number of run down buildings.

"This is Geneseo." Solara announced, gesturing towards the decrepit structures. Immediately, four teenagers, three boys and a girl cut off their entrance into the compound. One particularly nasty looking boy of about fifteen, with long unkempt brown hair and coal black eyes snarled.

"Terre Collin, I presume!" Laura stated loudly as Solara nodded. "We have rules about strangers here, old one." Terre threatened. "Old? I'm barely over eighteen." Laura snapped. "Regardless, we don't want you here." A second dark skinned boy with frizzy black hair barked.

"You must be Strife Havoc." Laura said coolly. The boy looked confused, but nodded confirmation. "Leave now, old one." Terre menaced again. "You don't belong here."

next: _Geneseo_


	3. Chapter 3: Geneseo

MHX 3

**Chapter 3** _Geneseo_

"Listen Toothpick!" Laura narrowed her eyes at Terre. "If you can kick my ass, I'll leave, right now. If not, and I kick your butt, I get to stay as long as I want, and someone has to show me every square inch of Geneseo."

A red haired girl of about fourteen snorted. "That will take all of about ten minutes." A stocky boy with sandy brown hair, roughly about fifteen, laughed raucously. "Good one, Chase." The girl snickered, but made no move toward anyone. "Thanks, Bear." She said arrogantly.

"Deal?" Laura challenged. Solara backed away, and Sedna and Robert looked like they wanted to cry. "Don't fight!" Sedna begged. "I don't like it when people fight." Laura rested her hand briefly on Sedna's small shoulder. "Don't worry honey, I'm a lot tougher than I look."

"You kids should be punished!" Strife Havoc bellowed. "You know the rules!" Laura steamed. "You so much as touch these kids and I'll have you up on charges. You'll spend your formative, youthful years in a Juvie Detention Home."

Strife stared at her blankly. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Fine, let this be a lesson to you." Terre menaced as he charged Laura at full speed. She gently shoved Sedna and Robert out of the way. Terre was quicker than Laura thought. He landed the first blow, shoving her backwards a good thirty feet. He was a lot stronger than she guessed.

Laura tumbled back towards the aqueducts, sliding to a stop just before she'd hit the water. "Oh yeah? Is that all you got?" Laura's eyes glowed a violet purple. She sped back to Terre, shoving his chest hard enough to knock him on his ass.

He got up quickly, and took a huge swing at her. This time, Laura was ready for it, and dodged the thrust easily. Solara watched the display with indifference, while Sedna sniffed a bit. Robert suddenly thought that it was cool, and began cheering Laura on.

"Get 'em Laurie!" The youngster shouted. "That'll teach him to be mean to everyone!" Chase frowned at Robert, but decided against berating the child. He was right, She mused. Terre bullies everyone, as did Strife Havoc. Bear enjoyed the battle, but gave no clue as to whom he supported.

Terre came back with a mule kick at Laura's back. She felt that one, and somersaulted forwards, landing out of position in a muddy glen several feet away. Strife laughed loudly. Terre quickly jumped atop Laura, in an attempt to pin her down.

Terre had surprising strength, as he held Laura's arms against the ground. "Hey! Kiss her, Terre!" Strife egged them on. "What? Hell no! She's an old one!" Terre bellowed. "Your loss!" Laura's eyes narrowed as she flipped him over her head with her long legs. The rowdy teen slammed against a nearby gnarled tree, splitting it in half, and scattering a few field mice.

The kids all grew silent, knowing that Terre would be furious. The beleaguered teen's eyes flared a bright red. He deftly leapt to his feet and immediately bull rushed Laura. Terre was too quick, and he tackled her by the midsection. Laura felt her ribcage shudder with the impact.

Laura went down with Terre atop her again. A few drops of blood dripped from Laura's mouth and nose. It was weird to feel pain again, she considered briefly, as she caught her breath. Time to end this game before somebody gets hurt, she decided.

Laura summoned a good portion of her Loracite enhanced strength, and grabbed Terre by his ribcage. She dug her fingernails into each side carefully just enough to break Terre's skin, and let him know the game was over. Terre howled in a brief bout of pain.

Laura shoved him upwards and back. Terre sailed through the air. But Laura had pushed too hard. Terre was soaring at least twenty to thirty feet above them. She wasn't sure if he'd be injured or not, so she snapped to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain of her bruised ribs.

Laura would have to catch him before he'd hit the ground. She sped into hyper speed, startling the troublesome onlookers. To them, she seemed to disappear. Laura got into position, slowing back to normal speed beneath Terre.

Just before Laura opened her arms to catch him, a shadow darted down from somewhere above them, possibly a treetop or building roof. A young girl of about twelve or thirteen literally flew underneath Terre, catching him clumsily about ten feet beyond Laura.

The two of them tumbled to the ground, falling into a huge, soft thicket. Terre moaned briefly, as the younger girl spun off to the side, lying against a rock and breathing heavily. "Thanks, Skyye." Terre mumbled. "My turn!" Strife Havoc challenged. Laura snapped her neck around just in time to see the dark skinned boy charge her.

She painfully sped out of the way. Strife wasn't as fast as Terre, but she still barely avoided any further contact. Laura took a ragged breath before Strife could turn and face her. He sneered as he stomped his foot. The ground shook beneath Laura's feet. She almost lost her balance.

Strife chuckled as he hopped up and down briefly. Two consecutive tremors would have sent Laura sprawling, had she not leapt off to one side. By now, Terre was on his feet, and debating seriously whether he should attack Laura again or not. His pride and leadership were on the line.

Skyye had regained her senses, and the petite young blonde jumped upward, effortlessly soaring from the grassy patch to a tree limb about twenty feet above the fray. Chase and Bear were growing bored with the spectacle, as was Solara. They all stood around staring blankly at the brawling teens. Sedna was now crying, and Robert was pounding his fist into his hand.

"Go Laurie, go!" He cheered. "Shut it, Sparks, or I'll make you wash everybody's dishes this week!" Chase threatened from nearby. "No way!" Sparks protested. "It's Blaze's turn to do it!" Chase scowled. "That can be changed." Laura sped past the other kids and circled in towards Terre. "You give, yet?" She tried to sound extra tough, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Fine! Whatever!" Terre had clearly had enough for the moment. "I'm not showing you around Geneseo! You figure it out!" The mutant boy said petulantly. "Just get lost as soon as you can!" Strife Havoc added. "Come on, guys. I'm hungry!" Bear complained.

"You're always hungry!" Chase needled him. In seconds, the children had vacated the area, all except Robert and Sedna, who had stopped crying. Solara had climbed a tree and watched them at a short distance. Skyye bravely flew down, landing beside Laura.

"Yay! Laurie wins!" Robert smiled brightly. "Robert, there are better ways to solve problems than fighting." Laura figured she might as well get started reining the kids in. Solara climbed along the tree line, lowering her approach every few branches along the way.

Upon closer inspection, Skyye appeared to be no more than twelve, in Laura's estimation. The slim girl had a small, mousy face, small nose, and bright blue eyes. "You know, Terre is always like that." Skyye began. "He thinks he owns everybody or something. We don't get many visitors around here." Laura nodded. "I'm not surprised, the way the boys are acting." She remarked.

"This way." Skyye directed, pointing a slim finger at the pathway leading towards the compound's center. "Thank you, Skyye." Laura said sincerely. "Are you sure that you won't get in trouble for helping me?" Skyye shrugged. "If they make me mad, I'll just fly away." She said.

This made perfect sense to Laura. Skyye must've developed her ability to fly as a defense mechanism. If the other kids are mean to her, she just leaves. Then why stay at all? Laura wondered silently, still not convinced that the children were here by accident.

Laura's ribcage still throbbed, so evidently, Terre was fairly powerful. She began to consider that she couldn't handle these mutant kids by herself. The only logical move would be to bring in Clark, Kara, and Chloe. They already had experience with super powered beings.

Skyye led Laura into what looked like a central gathering place. There was a beaten up courtyard with a still functioning water fountain at its center. Surrounding them were buildings in various states of disrepair. A loud, ear-piercing squeal made Laura wince. "What the hell was that?"

"That's Syren." Solara informed them, now dropping down from a rooftop to join them. "She always does that when it's time to eat." Robert began to get nervous, and amazingly, held Laura's hand. Awww! She thought. That's so cute. Sedna took her cue, and held Laura's other hand. Skyye and Solara brought up the rear.

Murmurs began to be heard from every building nearby. Laura steadily walked into the center of the courtyard near the fountain. Children of every size, skin color, and ethnicity began to spill out into the open area. They predictably gawked at the stranger.

Not one of the children was over sixteen she'd be willing to bet. Laura counted twenty-three children ranging from Robert's size up to the tall, stocky Bear, who'd brought up the rear. Also, predictably, Terre Collin was missing from their group gathering.

The gaping children quickly surrounded Laura. She wasn't quite sure how to react. What would Clark do? She wondered silently. Clark would say 'let's be friends, first'. She decided. Laura took a breath and flashed them her most dazzling smile.

"Well, hello. I'm Laura." She turned slowly to make sure all of the children got a good look at her. The group seemed evenly mixed between boys and girls, stunned expressions on all of their young faces. At the back of the ensemble lurked Strife Havoc, with a decidedly irritated look on his rough face. Laura banked that he wouldn't start anything in front of everyone.

Skyye and Solara stood in front of Laura and the youngsters. Solara, slightly embarrassed, stepped towards the fountain and pulled a plastic cup out of a nearby box, also grabbing one for Laura and Skyye. She went up to the fountain's cement ring and dipped the cup in a fresh stream of water, offering it symbolically to Laura.

"Thank you, Solara." Laura said loudly enough for all to hear. Solara filled her own cup and Skyye's. Sedna and Robert got their own drinks as well. Laura made a show of drinking their water, and it tasted about right for a common well. The other children edged in closer.

next: _the Forgotten_


	4. Chapter 4: The Forgotten pt1

MHX: Geneseo – _The Forgotten_

**Chapter 4**

Laura, surrounded by the mutant children, tried to remain positive. She had to get to the bottom of this mystery. Terre bolted into the crowd, rudely shoving the younger children aside. "This old one doesn't belong here." He announced, as the kids silenced. They had been chatting pleasantly among themselves, and a few began conversations with Laura.

What was that about standing up to a bully that Mike Trent's father had taught him? Laura's lips curled upward in a confident sneer. "You don't even know me!" She protested loudly. "I thought that you all might be in some kind of trouble." Laura added.

"Well, we're not!" Strife Havoc bellowed. "You can go away." Laura glanced at the crowd. "Is that what you all want? If you don't want to talk, I can leave right now." She challenged. About half of the kids grumbled. Laura's slightly sharper hearing picked up a few comments.

'Who does he think he is?' One girl had said. 'He's not the boss of me'. An older boy commented. There was definitely some insurrection brewing, Laura silently observed. "Why don't you put it to a vote?" She offered the crowd, but was met only with blank stares.

"What's that mean?" A tall, slender blonde girl of about fifteen asked. "What's your name?" Laura inquired. "Erin, but my nickname is Cyber." Cyber? Laura made a mental note of that. This could give her an inroad to a conversation. Did the kids have access to the Internet?

"It means that all of you that want me to leave, raise your hand." Laura posed, hands on her shapely hips. "Don't listen to her." Terre barked. "What are you afraid of?" Laura threw down her gauntlet. "Nothing." Terre snorted. "Then, I ask again…how many of you would like me to go?" About seven or eight of the kids complied, raising a hand.

"Okay, fair enough." Laura snickered. "Now how many want me to stay and have a look around?" A majority of the children's hands went up. "It's settled. I'll walk around your home for a while." Laura was thoroughly pleased with herself, introducing the kids to Democracy.

"Yay!" Robert cheered. "Would anyone like to show me around?" Laura breathlessly awaited a brave young volunteer. A girl with reddish blonde hair stepped forward. She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen. "I will." She stood tall and confident. "My name is Blaze."

Laura smiled brightly, and extended a wary hand, and she took it. Blaze sounded like a dangerous girl to mess with, she mused. This would call for some powerful diplomacy. "Thank you Blaze. As I mentioned, my name is Laura. Does anyone else want to walk me around?"

There were a few moments of awkward silence. "I will." A handsome young boy with dark brown hair volunteered. "My name is Shadow." Laura nodded. "Great. Thanks. Where should we go first?" Laura was still being cheerfully cordial. "We can show you the kitchen." Blaze offered. "We're heading there for lunch anyway."

"Very well. Lead on." Laura followed Blaze and Shadow towards the far end of the central courtyard. The rest of the kids, with the exclusion of Terre, Strife, Bear, and Chase, fell in behind them in a roughly organized line. The kids had some structure, at least, Laura observed.

To this point, Laura still hadn't seen any adults, which unnerved her. Could the youngsters have been telling the truth? Had all of the adults died from a disease?  
Since Laura had ingested the Loracite, years ago, the raven-haired beauty had never been ill. That could change if she encountered some virus or bacteria that remained in Geneseo.

Blaze and Shadow guided Laura into a large metal building, about the size of an Army barracks. It had begun to rust, and smelled foul, but not quite as bad as Laura had feared. It was, in fact, a cafeteria, left over from the village's prior residents.

The vending machines were emptied and damaged, and appeared to be several years old. The tables were grungy and crooked, but seemed to be sufficient for the kids to eat on. The chairs were standard issue metal assembly style. A few had been broken or had fallen apart.

Laura considered this new twist: Assuming that the children's parents had died or abandoned them for whatever reason, they'd managed to organize a loosely structured society on their own. Yet, something besides the cafeteria didn't smell right. The children would've been able to fend for themselves as far as water went, but who would buy or cook the food for them?

The kids lined up as if they were in some type of school. The weather beaten counter still held several plastic food trays. Two of the older girls named Mira and Nikki had taken it upon themselves to serve the food. Laura didn't need to eat, but she investigated the line all the same.

The food was standard cafeteria fare: lunchmeat sandwiches, potato chips, carrots, fruit, and a small ice cream desert. This told Laura a lot. The kids were being taken care of by someone, and they had some form of refrigeration available to them. Bunsen burners could be used to heat the warm food. Laura spotted some piled neatly in a corner.

The children were here by design, and someone knew about it, Laura postulated. Perhaps someone had decided to use the kids as a social experiment, though to her that seemed pointless. Laura loitered around the cafeteria, taking nothing but a small bottle of water. After the youngsters ate, Blaze and Shadow resumed their impromptu tour.

Blaze was talkative, but guarded, while Shadow seemed content to follow them around. Laura learned a few more items about the children, like where they slept, read books, drew pictures, or simply played. Blaze had revealed nothing substantial to her.

The whole complex was built along the lines of a factory slash school laboratory compound. The scientific wing of the area was moldy and unkempt. The children seemed to purposely avoid that section. The ruined labs had deteriorated faster than the rest of the complex.

The tour went on for a few minutes, when near the edge of town, she saw something that made her hair stand on end: A graveyard. Blaze seemed to go out of her way to ignore the burial ground. Laura decided to call her on it. "Blaze, who is buried up on that hill?"

Blaze shrugged, playing it off. "Our parents, I suppose." Laura gulped as her fears might become realized. "You don't know? Can I take a look?" Blaze stopped, and gave Laura an absent stare. "I don't care. Go ahead." She said as Shadow backed away from them a few feet.

Laura walked up the hill and examined the grave markers. The markers were simply cut wooden planks, roughly in the shape of a cross. Each intersection of the cross bore a person's name. That was it, just one name, without any details about their life.

Laura gasped and desperately tried to reach Tim on the cell phone again. The result was the same, a buzzing sound and an error message. "Spyros, Segal, Lundquist, Flaherty, O'Keefe." Laura read the names aloud. There were no dates of birth or death, and no first names. This was wrong, all wrong, Laura thought sourly.

Laura quickly counted about fifty-three grave markers. She also assumed that a few had been knocked down or removed. There were at least four holes in the ground where a marker likely once stood. This alone proved nothing, but Laura found it quite disturbing.

She retreated back down the hill to a patiently waiting Blaze. Shadow had wandered away, but was still within their field of vision. "Blaze, do you remember your parents?" Laura hit her with the hard question. "No, not really. We were all young when they died." Blaze answered, with a decided lack of emotion or interest.

"All of your parents died at the same time?" Laura reached for a conclusion. "Pretty much." Blaze responded absently. "Terre and Strife said that one winter everyone's parents got sick and died. We never bothered to discuss it. Its not as if we can, like, do anything about it."

"Do you recall any children dying, or stories about some that survived?" Laura continued to grill the pretty teen. "No. We've never had any kids that died." Blaze reddened, clearly uncomfortable with this line of questioning. "How old are you exactly?" Laura prodded as Blaze paled a bit.

"I guess I'm like thirteen." Blaze replied calmly. "Terre has a calendar on the wall in his room with all of our birthdays on it." Laura's eyes narrowed. Now we're getting somewhere, she thought dryly. "Can I see it?" Blaze shook her head. "No. He won't let anyone in his room, not even us." Laura couldn't push the teen any further. Blaze already became nervous and unsteady.

Laura was left on her own to figure out this conundrum. If Blaze was thirteen, and Terre and Strife were a bit older, say fifteen to sixteen, that would put Geneseo on the map around 1992. That could give Tim a starting point, along with the grave marker names.

"Thanks Blaze, is that all there is to see?" Laura probed as Shadow closed back in on them. "Yep. Pretty much. There's supposed to be like, an underground area below the town, but no one knows where the entrance is to like, check it out. Terre says that might be where the disease is."

Laura shuddered. This told her two more things, neither of which was very promising. Either Terre was lying, or he knew more about Geneseo than he'd been letting on. Also, it stands to reason, taken on the kid's word, that a disease, possibly genetic, or even some form of biological warfare could be involved. Shadow had literally vanished from their sight.

Laura felt a chill ride up her spine. "Blaze, did you see where Shadow went?" The teen shrugged. "He does that all the time." Laura gaped at her. "Does what, disappear?" Blaze nodded. "Yes. That's why we call him Shadow. He hangs around and then vanishes, reappearing later."

"Shadow can disappear?" Laura was skeptical. "Yep. Like he's usually cool about it, but every once in a while he gets moody." Blaze criticized. Laura liked this line of thinking even less. Could Shadow be an unstable genetic mutant? Terre and Strife certainly seemed mean and aggressive as well. Laura steeled her resolve. "Blaze, what can you do?"

"Oh, my power?" Blaze smirked. "I can control fire. Wanna see?" The pretty teen whipped out a match and lit it. In seconds, she'd somehow manipulated the flame to increase its size exponentially, creating a sort of baseball-sized glob of fire. Laura was horrified.

"Cool, huh?" Blaze was proud of her destructive ability. She concentrated on the fireball for a moment, and reduced its size back onto the match head, blowing it out. "We all have like, some kind of neat power." Blaze boasted as Laura paled. Her nightmare had just begun.


	5. Chapter 5: The Forgotten pt2

**Chapter 5** _The Forgotten_ cont'd

Laura walked Blaze back to the center of their encampment. Shadow had returned, and sat stoically nearby watching the girls closely. Laura had decided that this would be too much for her to handle alone. She would head back to Metropolis and inform Clark and Chloe.

She'd also have to keep Kara handy as backup if the mutant kids went rogue and attacked them. Laura found Robert, Solara, and Sedna, and said her goodbyes to them. "Will you be coming back, Laurie?" Robert sounded disappointed.

"You can count on it." Laura smiled at the smallest children, and waved to a number of others that had gathered around the center court fountain. She shook hands with Blaze, and began to walk away, heading back the way they'd come.

"She seems nice." A dark skinned, fifteen year old boy named Wraith commented. "Yeah, did you hear how she stood up to Terre and Strife?" A dark haired sixteen-year-old girl named Gothika remarked. Laura was suddenly greeted by Sedna and Robert.

The youngsters had used hyper speed to catch up with her. Robert hugged Laura and Sedna sniffed as she held Laura's hand. "Aww! I promise that I'll be back. See you soon." Laura dashed away after the hug fest. Solara took to the trees again, following Laura at a distance.

About halfway back to the aqueduct, Laura reduced her hyper speed. Something had caught her eye. A partially buried crate lay stuck in the end of a muddy slope. Laura stopped to investigate. The crate was wooden, and had suffered a good amount of rot. It was currently empty, but at one time, Laura imagined that it held some type of supplies.

Laura yanked the crate out of the mud and spun it around looking for an old address or packing list. Soon her search was rewarded. At the bottom of the outside of the crate, a worn, moldy packing list had still stuck to the wooden frame.

She hurriedly examined it. "Bingo!" Laura announced happily. The crate was shipped from Lincoln, Nebraska. It read: 'Rowland Chemicals' and included the billing address and freight charge. The bill of lading listed a quick inventory of the crate's contents.

"Electron microscopes, glass dishes, tweezers, and syringes." Laura read aloud. "It figures." She muttered. The packing list could serve as damning evidence of Rowland Chemicals involvement in the failed Geneseo project. The shipping date was October 9th, 1992.

Laura pocketed the packing slip, and hyper sped back to the aqueducts, and subsequently zipped on to Metropolis, after giving Tim a brief call on her now viable cell phone.

Scene: _Clark's under construction Metropolis condo _AU 2009

Clark sat in front of his laptop, absently thumbing through pages of information. Lois had delegated her 'less complicated' story to him revolving around the tear down of an old church in west Metropolis. She, meanwhile, tackled the possible headliner story about a new crime ring in town called Intergang.

A sharp gust of wind blew through the young superhero's window. Laura Lake slowed to a stop at Clark's side. "Hi honey, I'm home!" She quipped cheerfully. He smiled broadly, thankful to catch a break from the tedious minutia of the church story.

"Laura! It's good to see you!" Clark said as he stood and hugged her. Laura held him close by the small of his back for a long time, leaning her head on his shoulder. The Gold Wing stood about six feet high in her favorite, heeled black leather boots.

She unclenched and wagged a black-gloved finger at him. "You haven't called me for over a week!" She chided him. Laura looked stunning in her lacey, gold, low cut camisole, partially hidden beneath her black leather jacket. She wore a matching black miniskirt, and her raven black hair with loosely hanging gold strands, was pulled back in a lengthy ponytail.

"I know." Clark glanced at her apologetically. "I'm sorry! Things have been crazier around here than usual. You haven't called me either, you know." Laura took Clark by the hand and guided him over to his worn out old couch. "I'm here now." She flirted.

Laura's eyes sparkled as she sat down alongside her intended beau. She rested her head on his shoulder, as Clark reflexively put his arm around her. Laura nestled in closer. She rubbed his chest. "New flannel shirt? I'm impressed." She teased, crossing her long muscular legs.

"Anyway, the reason I haven't called is because…I've met some people." Laura explained. "Last week I was trolling through the Loracite caves near Falcon Claw, and three kids were already playing inside the caverns." Clark's eyebrows rose. "Did they get into the Loracite?" He asked worriedly. "Not that I could tell, but here's the kicker…" she added.

"The kids have special abilities." Laura dropped the anvil. "Special? You mean like meteor freaks?" Clark was alarmed. "Yes, kind of. There's more going on here, CK, I'm sure of it." Laura had adopted Jimmy Olsen's pet name for Clark.

"I have Tim investigating it from our end, but we have seriously limited resources." Laura complained. "Not many people are willing to let out any information to a couple of kids just out of high school." Clark was four years Laura's senior.

"You want me to use the Daily Planet's database to help?" Clark offered. "Yes, if you don't get in trouble for it." Laura responded. "I probably wouldn't, but I can go one better. Chloe has a massive bank of information available to her at Watchtower." He assured her.

"I guess that I'll have to stop by and see her, but not now." Laura grinned lustily as she aggressively climbed into Clark's lap, straddling his thighs. She kissed him passionately, and he didn't object. Laura slipped off her jacket, and untied her hair, letting it fall loosely across her shoulders and partially bare back.

Clark was still on the rebound from Lana leaving yet again, but that didn't faze Laura.


	6. Chapter 6: Clandestine

**Chapter 5** _Clandestine_

After a lengthy lip lock session, she rambled on about how her life had changed in recent months. The debacle with Mike Trent came up. She'd tried to talk the young mutant into seeking help, with no success. "I think I've found my calling." Laura announced.

"Which is?" Clark baited, as he rubbed her bare back. "I'm going to don my Gold Wing costume and make a difference in the world. There's not enough crime in Falcon Claw to keep me busy, so I have to branch out. Did you need some help cleaning up Metropolis?" Laura's eyes sparkled.

"Like, you want to be my sidekick?" Clark was stunned. "I wouldn't call it that." Laura defended. "I'd call it a team effort. Even you can't be everyplace at once." Clark couldn't argue that fact. "That's fine with me." He answered, though was still a bit puzzled.

"Laura, you have to remember that we are not above the law, and you aren't completely indestructible like I am, kryptonite not withstanding." Clark lectured. Laura shifted her weight, and continued to straddle his lap, allowing her long hair to drift into his eyes.

"But first, I have to bring down Rex Rowland!" Laura vowed. "I know that Rowland Chemicals is behind the poor, lost, mutant children of Geneseo." Clark was worried, recalling first Chloe's than Lana's vow to bring down Lex Luthor. "Laura, I have to stress there is a line that you dare not cross. That would be to take a life." He said sternly.

"Oh, I don't want to kill him, just destroy his clandestine businesses." Laura clarified. "As Gold Wing, I can best handle Rowland and his cohorts." Clark shook his head. "That still sounds illegal, Laura." He protested. "Rowland probably has an army of lawyers on hand, ready to pounce." Laura dismissed him with a wave. "Which is why I'll operate in sort of a gray area."

"Oliver and Chloe probably do that all the time." Laura argued. Clark couldn't deny that. "I just don't want you to get hurt, or tossed in jail." He stated quietly. "Aww!" Laura climbed further up his lap, resting on his stomach. From here she could glance down into his eyes.

"What if…?" Clark began, before Laura silenced him with a series of passionate kisses. After bringing a smile to his face, Laura continued to explain: "I know Clark, revenge isn't what I'm all about. What I do want is Rowland shut down. At some point, playing exclusively by the rules becomes more of a hindrance than a help."

"Clark, I plan on going to college in the fall and majoring in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement. That way I can at least try and play by the rules." Laura offered a peacekeeping gesture that could stop him from giving her another lecture.

There was a quick knock on the door, and Chloe waltzed into the condo apartment. "Girl alert, Clark!" She stopped at the edge of the room divider, and her eyes widened. "Oops! I guess I should have phoned first." Laura's shirt was halfway up her chest. She quickly yanked it back down, and shifted her position to face Chloe.

Great timing! Laura mentally grumbled. "Uh, Laura Lake, right?" Chloe approached warily, as Laura also adjusted her black leather miniskirt. "Yes." Laura snapped. "I wanted to let you in on some of the latest info we've gathered about Luthorcorp, but I guess it can wait."

Chloe directed her comments at Clark. "No, that's okay, Chloe. Have a seat." He cordially offered.  
Laura slid off of Clark's lap and onto the couch beside him, though she still wrapped one long, tan arm around his neck. "I was expecting to tell you privately." Chloe edged past Laura and sheepishly slipped into the desk chair opposite Clark's computer.

"That's okay, Chloe." Clark flushed. "Laura's part of our team now. She knows." Chloe gasped. "She knows everything?" Clark nodded. "Pretty much everything minus some tedious details." He added. "Uh, when I suggested that you move on from the Lana debacle, and quit drowning your sorrows, I didn't expect you to surface so soon." Chloe criticized.

Laura was doing a slow burn, but sat silently, patiently. "You're not going to just kick us to the curb, are you?" Chloe questioned. "You mean you and Lois? No, it's not like that." Clark defended. "All I'm saying, Clark, is please don't cut us out of your life. We have a serious lack of available knights in shining armor." Chloe countered.

"Chloe, you know that I'll always be here for you and Lois." Clark scowled. "I just need to move on, that's all. Besides, Laura can be a huge help in our crime-fighting, meteor freak infested world. For one thing, she's immune to kryptonite. That's a serious advantage." He glanced at Laura who finally managed a smile.

Chloe swiftly changed subjects, informing them about the latest Luthorcorp disasters. "Can you do me a favor, Chloe?" He inquired. "What, be a bridesmaid at your wedding?" She sniped. "Nice." Clark scoffed as Laura reddened. "No, can you check out Geneseo, Illinois on your Watchtower supercomputer?"

Clark and Laura filled Chloe in on the abandoned mutant children, and the fact that Rowland Chemicals was involved. "Actually, I might be able to grab something off the public airwaves." Chloe offered. "Here's one snippet: Project MHX Geneseo closes due to lack of funding. The article is dated May 15th, 2005."

"Why does that date sound familiar?" Clark pondered. "That was the day of the last meteor shower." Chloe informed him. "Suddenly, the MHX Geneseo project is shut down?" Clark wasn't convinced that it was a coincidence. "Any idea what MHX stands for?" Laura inquired, purposely leaning across Clark's lap to check the computer screen.

"Meta Human Experiments!" Chloe gasped. "Meta Humans?" Laura echoed. "Sure. We've been calling our encounters with kryptonite infected humans the creation of 'Meteor Freaks'." Chloe mentioned. "What if someone else is using the same procedures to create Meta Humans?"

Clark paled. "Lex, Lionel, and Tess have been trying to do just that for years." He muttered. "What if Rowland and his minions at least partially succeeded?" Chloe followed his train of thought. "Perhaps the kids were somehow enhanced with meteor rocks or drugs." Clark added. "We have some major problems if that's true." Laura commented.

"I met at least thirty MHX kids in Geneseo, Nebraska. One of them decided to throw down with me." Laura gulped. "He batted me around like a rag doll before I got the best of him." Chloe's eyes widened, knowing how powerful Laura truly was.

"Clark, he bruised my ribs, see." Laura lifted up her shirt, and sure enough, there were two black, brown, and blue marks along one side of her ribcage. "He also drew some blood, my Loracite laced blood, mind you." Clark was shocked that Laura had actually been injured.

"That's when I decided to come to you for backup." Laura explained. "We can head back there if you want, but I suggest that we bring Kara and maybe even Victor for additional help." Clark shook his head. "Victor is over in South America with Oliver, Bart, and Canary. Besides, if these kids are as powerful as you say, Victor might just be crushed like a soda can."

"I'd love to go, Clark." Chloe offered. "No, sorry Chloe. It's too dangerous. Kara and I will join Laura to investigate these MHX kids." Clark argued, as Chloe knew he would. "What are we going to say to them, Clark?" Laura questioned. "You kids are freaks and someone might want to put you all down?" Clark scowled. "No. We have to be friends with them."

"No offense, Clark, but after what I saw, you might not even be able to charm them." Laura cautioned. "This is a huge problem, Clark." Chloe pointed out. "Even if we're able to befriend these super kids, what do we do with them? How many parents that you know would adopt a genetically enhanced child?"

"True." Laura said seriously. "I'm over eighteen and I still haven't told my Aunt Wanda the truth. She has no idea about my abilities." Clark frowned, rubbing his square jaw. "You're both right. This may be even too much for Kara and I to handle."

Chloe settled down in a chair next to the computer screen. "Who do we know that can offer these hyper powered kids a home? How about giving them a purpose? It would have to be someone with mega bucks to support the kids for the rest of their lives."

"Oliver has the financial means, but he can barely keep our friends together, let alone an army of super beings." Clark grumbled. "Marcus Worthington?" Chloe guessed. "He's got the financial wherewithal, but how could he keep them in line?"

"Could Mr. Worthington create a special school, or boarding house, you know, like a college dorm or something to keep the kids in?" Laura offered. "Financially, yes." Chloe answered. "We're still back to how do we convince them to stay at a school, let alone make them productive members of society." Clark nodded. "You said some kids were close to your age?"

Laura nodded. "Yes, possibly a quarter of them are around sixteen. There are quite a few more between six and fifteen years old, though." Chloe sighed. "You're sure that Rowland Chemicals financed this clandestine Meta Human experiment?" Laura gulped. "Yes."

"The U.S. government is at least partially responsible for the kids as well." Chloe went over any additional details that she'd come up with in the Internet story.

"First, we have to earn their confidence." Clark began to form a plan. "Yeah, about that." Laura countered. "At least a few of the MHX kids have already developed seriously bad attitudes. I'm fairly confident that the younger ones will follow us. We lead by example."

"We can't risk splitting them apart, though." Chloe put in. "Think about it, you guys. What if half of the kids follow us, and the other half, say decide to follow Luthor, Tess, or Rowland's people?" Clark swallowed hard. "We'd start a mutant war."

"We're talking about an apocalyptic nightmare." Chloe warned. "How can you stop the unstoppable, control the uncontrollable, or prevent them from destroying the Earth in the process?" Clark winced. "Aren't we being a little melodramatic?"

"Not really, Clark." Laura sighed. "We'll just have to have faith." Clark said with restrained confidence. "We need more than a magical incantation to keep these kids from eliminating each other and us in the process." Chloe said sadly.

"I can try talking to Jor El for advice." Clark volunteered. "Really?" Chloe's eyes went wide. "Yes. It's worth a try." Clark stated. "Somehow I doubt that he included Meta Humans in his overall plan for Kara, Earth, and I. Yet, there may be a way to limit their power without injuring them."


	7. Chapter 7: Journey

**Chapter 6 ** _Journey_

"What're you two talking about?" Laura was puzzled. Clark smiled brightly. "Do you get cold easily?" He flirted. "Not as long as you're there to keep me warm." Laura countered playfully, irritating Chloe. "Really? I don't get too cold, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. Are we heading somewhere with winter weather?" Laura asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Clark joked. Laura grabbed her leather jacket and slipped it on. Her original intention was to remove clothes, not pile more on. "Chloe? Are you coming?" She offered politely. "No, I'll pass. I'll stay here in much warmer Metropolis. Three's a crowd."

Laura stood up and began to dig in her overnight bag. Chloe scowled as she observed the full implications of Laura's interest in Clark. "Do I need my Gold Wing mask?" Laura asked as she tossed aside some make up, lipstick, and travel size deodorant.

"No, where we're going, no one will be there to recognize you." Clark answered as he watched Laura's figure closely. "Oh. Okay then, I'm ready." She offered. "I seriously doubt that." Chloe sniped. Clark stood and escorted the girls outside the condo apartment and downstairs to the front entrance way. "Are you sure about this, Clark?" Chloe questioned.

"I mean once Laura knows the fortress, she pretty much knows it all." Chloe pointed out. "I know, Chloe, I can handle Laura. Besides, I'm tired of living half a life, and continuously hiding myself from Lois and others. You saw how great that worked out with Lana." Clark scoffed.

Once on the street, Chloe hopped into Lois's car and wished them luck. She was due to pick up her older cousin from the Daily Planet and head out to a minor shopping spree. After Chloe left, Clark and Laura walked hand in hand towards an alley.

"She really cares about you." Laura mentioned. "I know. I've known Chloe since I was a freshman in high school, maybe even before." Clark turned into the dark, dank, and presumably deserted alley. "I can't say much for your choice of hideouts." Laura quipped.

Clark glanced around, and made doubly sure that no one could see them from the buildings above. "Ready? Try and keep up." He playfully challenged. Clark zipped into hyper speed, and Laura followed suit. In moments, Clark slowed to a stop, and patiently waited for Laura.

She caught up with him a few seconds later. "Whew! Clark, you can sure haul ass!" Laura commented as she bent over to catch her breath. Behind her Laura heard the growls of…polar bears? She glanced over her shoulder. "I think we disturbed somebody's lunch."

Clark chuckled. "Come on!" He guided her towards the North Pole. "Uh, don't tell me, let me guess…you're secretly Santa Claus?" Laura quipped. "No, but I think I actually met him one day." Clark countered. Soon they spied the Crystalline Ice Fortress.

"I take it that this is your vacation home?" Laura said as her breath began to show in the dry, icy air. "What's wrong with Miami?" She teased. "Are you cold?" Clark held her closely as they approached the edge of the ice fortress entrance. "Not really, but I still think that I'll pass on coming up here in a bikini." Laura snickered as she put her arm around him.

"Wicked!" Laura gazed up at the frozen crystalline ceiling. She felt a nearby wall, and it was cool to the touch but not uncomfortably so. "This is supposed to be a replica of my father, Jor El's lab back on Krypton." Clark explained as he showed her around the palatial ice castle.

Clark went up to a greenish crystal column in the center of the fortress's main great room. Atop it was the familiar 'S' shield. "Aha!" Laura laughed. "The sign of the Blur!" Clark pressed his hand on it and the entire ice fortress was bathed in a pale, ghostly, bluish light.

"This is a control that Kara and I installed." Clark explained further. "It can only be activated by Kryptonian DNA." Laura nodded. "Nice! It beats any alarm system I've seen." There was a short buzzing sound and Jor El's baritone voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"Kal El, my son!" Jor El's life size image appeared on a nearby wall display. Jor El looked to Laura to be in his early fifties or late forties. He had slightly graying salt and pepper hair. Next to him was a beautiful sandy blonde haired woman, substantially younger in appearance.

"Have you come to complete your training?" Jor El apparently stared at Laura. "Why have you brought this human to the fortress?" Laura whistled. "I thought that you said your father was dead." She commented. "He is in a manner of speaking. This is a representation of his essence or whatever. Think of it as an interactive hologram." Clark responded.

"Laura Lake is my girlfriend, father." Clark spoke to the image as Laura reddened.  
Laura smiled brightly. She wasn't sure where their relationship stood, until now. "She's lovely, Kal El." The holographic woman said approvingly. "Aww! Thanks." Laura shifted uneasily. "Laura, this is my birth mother, Lara EL." Clark shoved Laura in closer to the hologram.

"Hello." Laura waved at them, feeling foolish as she did so. Jor El seemed to look directly into Laura's face. "Kal El, we aren't sure that you can mate with a human woman." Jor El began to analyze her. Laura gulped. "Awkward." She muttered. Clark gathered Laura close to him.

"Laura is special, father, mother." Clark began. "I'm sure she is, son." Lara smiled. "No, I mean that she possesses powers of nearly the same strength and speed that I do." Clark explained further. "Laura is what we call a Meta Human. She has supernatural abilities as compared to the majority of Earth's people."

"It is a form of mutation then?" Jor El continued to analyze. "We saw no such phenomena during our studies of Earth's denizens." Laura felt more like a freak than a guest of Clark's parents. "Jor El, Kal El has feelings for Laura Lake. She's not one of your science experiments."

"Thanks, Mrs. El." Laura gave her the thumbs up. Clark was a little annoyed with his parents' comments, but he had to realize that he was actually talking to a sophisticated form of an alien computer program. His true parents probably wouldn't have been so rude.

"You mentioned some kind of training?" Laura fished. "Yes, Kal El has much to learn. The sooner he gets started, the better off Earth will be." Jor El answered, devoid of emotion. "Actually, father, I've come here to ask a series of questions about human mutation." Clark got back on point. "It sounds like you have no data on such things."

Jor El's eyes seemed to gaze upward. "Searching." He grumbled, sounding more like a voice activated computer. "Kal El, there is very limited data on such phenomena." Jor El hedged.

"Meaning that you have no idea." Clark smirked, lost in the irony. Laura stifled a laugh, assuming that Clark had somehow stumped the computer. Growing a bit tired of Jor El and Clark's conversation, Laura slipped in front of him, and leaned heavily against Clark's chest. Laura's nearly six-foot frame came up to his nose in height.

He wrapped his arms around her thin waist, as he continued discussions with the image of Jor El. The image of Lara glanced at Laura and grinned with approval. In her essence's mind, Lara got the impression that Clark had gained acceptance on this foreign, far away world.

"Put it this way, father." Clark began. "If such a mutation did occur, how can we stop it from being used for the wrong purposes?" Jor El's eyes darted from side to side. Laura guessed that he was calculating some kind of hypothesis.

"If such mutations did occur in humans, one would have to remove the mutant genome." Jor El attempted to explain. "Remove it? Without killing the host?" Clark was skeptical. "This is purely speculation, Kal El. I don't know if Earth has that advanced technology." Jor El qualified.

"Another possibility would be some type of mutation inhibitor." Jor El offered. "Like a mutant dog collar?" Laura put in, feeling left out of the conversation. "Essentially, the analogy is sound." Lara contributed, which made her seem more like a computer and less like Clark's mother. "Isn't that, I don't know, harsh, Clark?" Laura questioned.

"It may be harsh, Laura, but after what I've been through with the meteor freaks, I'm afraid that I'll have to consider it." Clark said seriously. "Which would leave Kara, you and I as the only Earth dwellers with supernatural abilities." Laura rubbed her thin chin.

"Laura, Kal El's destiny, as well as Kara's, has the potential to reach beyond saving Earth." Jor El's image informed them. "So, Earth will need it's own protector. Do you feel that you'd be up to the challenge?" Laura gulped as the magnitude of Jor El's words set in.

"Yes sir, I do." Laura said confidently. "Hmm! 'Laura Lake aka Gold Wing, Guardian of Earth'  
has a nice ring to it Clark." She quipped. Clark nodded, though he wished that she'd take their dilemma more seriously.

"We'd have to develop the mutant dog collar ourselves, because I don't believe that Earth's current level of technology could create a prototype." Clark mentioned. "It's possible that once you attained the knowledge in our database that you could invent such a device." Jor El offered.

"Tempting." Clark commented. "But after Brainiac's interference, I find it hard to hook myself into your technology." Jor El's image nodded. "Brainiac?" Laura echoed. "Yes. Last year, a being that we call Brainiac co-opted the fortress and attempted to assimilate its technology." Clark began. "We created the artificial intelligence system to serve us." Jor El went on.

"Unfortunately, we created Brainiac too well." Lara picked up the point. "The AI unit was meant to protect Krypton, aid in our research, and store vast databases of Kryptonian interplanetary knowledge." The images of Krypton's last days shifted as Jor El continued the story.

"Brainiac grew beyond its programming, and achieved sentience itself. It also developed a penchant for self-preservation. It knew that Krypton was being torn apart by our red gas giant star's gravity well. It analyzed all data and chose to save itself, condemning Krypton to its doomed fate."

Jor El's image replaced the myriad of pictures that whipped past them. "How sad." Laura said as she held Clark tightly. "That's how Kal El came to you, Laura." Lara said as she smiled warmly. "Jor El and I chose to save our son and send him to Earth. Though we knew that our lives would end shortly thereafter."

"My brother Zor El, and sister in law, Alura, saved Kara in much the same way." Jor El added. "Kara was sent to Earth to watch over Kal El. Somehow her ship's programming became damaged, and she arrived too late. Fortunately, Kal El had the love of the Kents to watch over him." It was then that Laura realized the images of Jor El and Lara were accepting her.

She found that aspect cool, yet creepy. Just beyond Jor El and Lara's images, a violet and red circle began to grow. "What's that?" Laura pointed to the ever-increasing circle. "I don't know. Maybe we've overheated it? I'll shut down the program."

Clark dashed to the control column, and rubbed his hand across the 'S' shield. Immediately, Jor El and Lara disappeared, but the circle expanded. Before anyone could react, a bright white light lanced out of the circle's center and hit Laura squarely in the chest.

"Aaah!" Laura screamed as the beam of light shoved her violently upward. She spun head over heels towards the jagged crystal ceiling. "Laura!" Clark yelled as he attempted to deflect the beam with his body. It simply zipped right through him and then suddenly reversed polarity and dragged Laura back down from the ice fortress roof.


	8. Chapter 8: Backtrack

_Backtrack_

Laura raced Clark back to Smallville and they immediately went to visit Chloe at Watchtower Base. "Back from the great white north?" Chloe sniped. "You two couldn't have picked a romantic getaway to the Carribean?" She added with a hint of jealousy.

"It's not like that, Chloe." Clark defended. "Whatever, Clark." Chloe said as she turned to one of her multiple viewing monitors. "While you two were visiting Santa Claus, I found some background information on Laura's Geneseo build a freak project. The idea was put into motion after the first Smallville meteor shower. It was moved from Kansas to Illinois before ending up in Nebraska."

"So someone is using meteor rocks to add to human DNA?" Clark was disgusted. "Will this never end?" He complained. "Here's the fly in your Kryptonite ointment, Clark. I found no meteor rocks anywhere in Geneseo." Laura informed them. "The kids could've been infected in Smallville." Clark guessed. "I don't think that they were accidentally affected at all." Laura countered.

"You mean that someone may have sold meteor rocks to Rowland Chemicals?" Chloe said as she rubbed her thin chin. "That someone could've been LuthorCorp." Clark pointed out. "Why am I not surprised?" Chloe remarked. "If you put Luthor and Rowland together, we've got to double down on our efforts." Laura commented. "A team up?" Clark smiled. "Yes." Laura agreed. "You, Kara, and I."

_Flashback Sequence:_

Scene: Geneseo, Illinois, 1992

Dr. Harrison Wells waited expectantly in the Geneseo Labs Research Facility office. GLRF had been conducting genetic research for the last two decades. The GLRF had many benefactors, some good and well intentioned, like WayneCo Enterprises of Gotham and WorthingtonCo of Arizona. Others were far below the radar like Luthorcorp, Rowland Chemicals, and the racist organization ACORN.

The US government also had its' dirty little hands in clandestine genetic research. They had a number of nameless organizations through which they laundered campaign contributions made to prominent local politicians. Illinois was rife with corruption.

The nameless ones were what worried Dr. Wells. It gave the appearance of impropriety. A man in a white lab coat approached Dr. Wells. He was tall, slim, fifty-ish, and sported sandy brown hair with a matching moustache. Dr. Wells stood up as the other man extended a hand, and flashed a knowledgeable smile.

"Dr. Wells? I'm Dr. John Hamilton of the STARLABS oversight committee. The younger Dr. Wells nervously greeted his esteemed visitor. "Dr. Hamilton, I'm pleased to finally make your acquaintance. I've read some of your most recent postings on genetic research in the Science Quarterly."

"Really? What did you think of my hypotheses?" Hamilton fished. "Actually, I thought that we might discuss this over lunch?" Wells sidestepped. "We have a five star restaurant on the main floor facing the drive." He suggested. "Thank you, that would be great. First, let me call my son, Emile."

After Dr. Hamilton finished his call, Wells offered a tour of the facility. The two professors of genetic research turned towards two large, white, doors just beyond the lobby. Dr. Wells ran his electronic ID through the card reader. It then buzzed them in.

"Geneseo Labs has been experimenting for quite a while with genetics based on the availability of grants, studies, and contributions of course." Wells began his spiel. "Naturally." Hamilton said flatly. "Our first stop will be the frozen embryo lab. We've been conducting stem cell research for the past few months." Hamilton's eyes lit up. "Even without unilateral government approval? Is that legal?" He pressed.

"Yes and no." Wells responded evasively. "It varies from state to state, country to country. Here in Illinois, you just have to know the right people." Wells slipped his card through the next reader. "On your left are all of the technicians involved in the process." The entry wall was secured by framed glass. "On your right is the frozen embryo holding station. We aren't allowed in there for sterilization purposes."

Wells pointed out another wing of the lab within the room that was behind the glass windows. Hamilton watched wide eyed as a technician plucked a small frozen embryo out of one test tube, and slipped part of it beneath her super powered electron microscope. Some frost lined the circular glass dish in her hand.

"We can, however, show you some live subjects." Wells continued calmly as if discussing the weather. "Live subjects?" Hamilton echoed, horrified. Wells nodded. "Sure. All of the subjects are voluntary, their families well paid, and they have to sign a waiver to guarantee that they won't try and file a lawsuit, in the event something fails." Hamilton gasped as Wells guided him toward the exit.

"What kind of people would do that?" Hamilton questioned. Wells shrugged. "The kind of people that want to help others. Some people, from ACORN, actually prefer to be part of our outreach program."

"It gives people jobs, and with the struggling economy, many families are looking for any way to get a leg up on their bills." Wells gestured for him to follow. "Our public face is one of a struggling research company with cutting edge technology that's mired in a sea of bureaucratic red tape."

Wells was obviously making another pitch for a grant from STARLABS, Hamilton mused. "Behind the scenes, our investors expect results. They control about ninety percent of our funding, the US Government picks up the remaining ten percent. Naturally, with plausible deniability, the government denies any involvement in stem cell research or live subjects. You'll see what I mean in a moment."

Wells was excited that the well known scientist, Dr. Hamilton, was here in person to give his blessing or curse to the company's research projects. If Hamilton got on board, the GLRF was likely in line for more funding, because Hamilton's positive review would add legitimacy to GLRF's genetic work.

Dr. Hamilton was suspicious of the lab, but hardly surprised. STARLABS had a series of shadow investors as well, specifically Queen Industries, WayneCo, and WorthingtonCo. "A lot of people come to us with problems." Wells began his spiel. "Their problems are...unique. Some have genetic abnormalities, some are purely cosmetic, and others are more internal."

Wells smug smile made Hamilton's skin crawl. He followed Wells closely, and hoped that the GLRF would grant him access to their 'subjects'. Hamilton tried to remain positive, giving the benefit of the doubt to Wells, hoping that their research was truly noble and productive.

Wells stopped to greet a tech in a lab coat. "Morning, Curt." The scientist nodded a pleasant hello, and continued on without saying a word. Hamilton wasn't fooled by Wells' cheerful demeanor, with the stakes so high, millions and billions of dollars in grant money, he could only dread what came next.

"We have a very secured system here, Dr. Hamilton." Wells began. "I'm one of only four people that can access this area. We call it Class 1 and Class 2."

"The name stands for the most highly classified operations. Only the four of us and God can enter this area." Hamilton gulped, suddenly feeling like he'd been sentenced to hell and Wells doubled as Lucifer.

"Thanks for trusting me, Dr. Wells." The STARLABS administrator said, trying to maintain his cool. Wells bent low, and shoved his right eye into an electronic reader, placed beside the twin steel doors. It immediately beeped, granting the scientists access.

The doors slid open and off to the right of them was a room full of test tubes, glass dishes, and a bright white lighting system. In the room's center was what looked like a fairly common refrigerator. Hamilton swallowed hard, steeling his resolve. "What's in there, or am I not allowed to know?"

"Not a problem, Dr. Hamilton, we're both professionals." Wells stated arrogantly. "This is where we store viable embryos." Hamilton nearly choked on his tongue. "Viable embryos?" He echoed. "Certainly, Dr. Hamilton. We have twenty-three subjects now. Seventeen or so, regrettably didn't survive the freezing process." Hamilton sighed. "What kind of embryos?"

"Why human, of course, Dr. Hamilton." Wells replied condescendingly. "Human?" Hamilton gulped. "They were donated I take it?" Wells shook his head. "No sir, we created them by splicing genes."

Dr. Hamilton's skin began to crawl. "Splicing genes?"He echoed. Wells' eyes narrowed. "Surely, a renowned scientist like yourself isn't squeamish. After all, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs?" Hamilton forced down the sensation of nausea that threatened to overcome him.

"In any event, maybe you'd feel more comfortable examining a live subject?" Wells tempted. Hamilton gulped, steeling his resolve. "Yes, that would be fine if it's permitted." He replied bravely. "Of course, Doctor. Though we are technically rivals, I believe that STARLABS would benefit by an in depth analysis." Wells added smugly. He continued the tour through another secured area.

On Hamilton's left were a series of small rooms, with huge viewing windows. Most were empty, but they resembled common, sparse two bedroom apartments. "These are nice, but what about...?" Hamilton began before an icy feeling climbed up his spine, and it wasn't from the air conditioner.

"Any occupants?" Wells finished for him. "As of now, just one." He pressed what appeared to be a normal looking doorbell. Immediately, a petite, pretty, young girl literally flew across the room to the large window. Hamilton was startled and instinctively jumped backwards, nearly impacting the opposite wall. She had straight, shoulder length blonde hair, and was pale skinned.

The girl had sky blue eyes, and wore a tight fitting, white, simple exercise outfit which accented her curvy physique. Hamilton gawked in disbelief. The girl appeared to be about nineteen, and would be considered beautiful by most human standards. She could certainly use a tan, Hamilton mused.

She bore no evidence of wings, or any other propulsion devices. The girl was simply defying gravity. She effortlessly zoomed across the small room near to the ceiling, executing pinpoint control. She daringly performed a tight loop in the tight quarters, stopping on a dime near the viewing window again.

Dr. Wells pressed an intercom switch and it buzzed loudly. "Hello Mandy. Very well done." he praised. "Your control of flight has improved greatly." The teen genetic creation cocked her head in a bird-like manner. "You couldn't bring me someone young and cute?" Mandy teased, as she eyed the distinguished fifty something Dr. Hamilton. "Mandy, Dr. Hamilton is here to look-over our facility."

"Doctor, may I present Mandy Maress. As you've no doubt noticed, Mandy is quite unique. She has virtually mastered flight. Mandy was born with this gift, after we successfully spliced some avian genome into a fertilized egg." Hamilton was speechless. He waved at Mandy as he carefully approached the observation window to garner a closer look.

"Mandy also possesses a doctorate in advanced sociology, so she's not only pretty, she's also smart." Wells said proudly as if talking about her as a daughter. "Thank you, Doc." Mandy grinned broadly, displaying a set of flawless white teeth. "When do I get to go out and exercise again? This posh bird cage gets old real quick." The genetic meta human said half seriously.

"Let's see." Wells flipped open a nearby laptop placed just outside of Mandy's quarters. "You're scheduled for exercise this afternoon at four. Perhaps we'll catch up with you then." Mandy flipped her hair to one side in a perfectly normal human teen gesture. "Sounds like a plan." Mandy smirked. "Nice meeting you Dr. Hamilton."

Wells guided Hamilton away from Mandy's quarters and the meta human girl went back to flying loops, obviously showing off for the scientists. "That's amazing!" Hamilton finally got out. Mentally, though, he was horrified. Genetic manipulation, he mused. Wells had succeeded where Adolph Hitler had failed.


	9. Chapter 9: The Cage Rattler

_Chapter 9_

_Gold Wing, The Cage Rattler_ Scene: _Falcon Claw, Nebraska, present day_:

Laura Lake had decided to take things into her own hands. She was going after Rex Rowland, the CEO of Rowland Chemicals. She hadn't told anybody about her plan, not even Tim. She certainly didn't want Clark Kent to know what she was about to do.

Clark is nice, but he's not aggressive enough, Laura mused as she slipped on her Gold Wing outfit. I have a voice and I intend to use it. Laura preferred a more hands on approach. She zipped to Lincoln, Nebraska, a much larger city that was the home of Rowland Chemicals main office.

The forty plus story high rise towered above most other skyscrapers in downtown Lincoln. Using her hyper speed, Gold Wing zoomed into a nearby building, and like a gusty wind, blew through it up to the thirty third floor. She found an empty office, and after flipping off the lights, opened an unsecured window. Laura edged out onto the windowsill, and gazed up at Rowland Tower.

Naturally, Randolph Rowland, Rex's father, would be in the penthouse office at this time of the early evening. Laura glanced down to the street far below. Why do they always say, don't look down, and then everyone does? She wondered as she took a deep breath. If she fell it probably wouldn't kill her, but right now, the Gold Wing didn't want to call any attention to herself. That time would come.

Laura stepped back off of the windowsill, and concentrated on the rooftop across the street. She sighed and stepped back to the opposing wall. She took off at hyper speed pace, sped through the open window, and vaulted upward. Gold Wing soared over the street, and up towards the Rowland penthouse.

She grabbed onto the corner of the building, around the thirty ninth floor, and dislodged some loose brickwork. It fell downward towards the crowded street below. "Oops! I hope no one gets hit by that!" she said aloud, as she quickly crawled up the rest of the way, nearing the penthouse balcony.

"Got to work on this covert stuff more, girl!" Laura muttered as she glanced in the penthouse's glass doors. There was Randolph Rowland, smug as can be, seated behind his oversized executive desk. As luck would have it, the senior Rowland took a moment to rest his eyes, removing his bifocals.

Laura stealthily made her way past the balcony and onto the rooftop garden. She slipped into the shadows behind a beautiful fountain decorated with fanciful animals. "Nice! Maybe I'll get one for my place." She murmured. Gold Wing approached the rooftop exit, and of course, a silent alarm system guarded the doorway, its red light blinking intermittently.

I hope this works, Laura mused silently. She popped open the security access panel, and held a small electronic measuring device next to the computer chip. It had a small viewing screen, and Gold Wing flipped on the frequency detector. Its display spun a myriad of LED numbers, eventually hitting on the numbers and letters for the access code.

Bingo! Laura thought as she rapidly punched in the combination. Thanks, Oliver! In moments, Laura opened the door and silently slid down the short staircase into the penthouse. She tiptoed across the plushly carpeted floor, past Rowland's bedroom, bathroom, and den, eventually ending up in the older business mogul's office. Randolph was still seated behind his desk, unaware of Gold Wing's presence.

Young Laura flashed a bright grin as she approached from Rowland's blind side. Laura flipped on her voice synthesizer. "Good evening, Mr. Rowland." Her artificial deep voice began. The startled mogul spun in his chair to face her. He reached for a drawer with one hand and beneath his desk with the other.

"I wouldn't." Laura threatened as she sped towards him in the blink of an eye. She held both his hands away from the silent alarm button, or the gun that he likely kept in his drawer. "Who are you?" He snarled, fidgeting in his seat. Laura's grip was ironclad. "A concerned citizen." She snickered.

The dim office lighting glinted off of Gold Wing's black leather outfit. The ambiance lighting reflected her chopped gold t-shirt, and her glossy black boots. "What shall we talk about today?" Laura menaced as she held Rowland's arms behind his executive chair.

"This is illegal!" Rowland protested. "So is creating genetically mutated human beings, with or without their approval." Gold Wing countered. "I'm sure that I don't know what you're referring to." Rowland snapped arrogantly. "Oh, I think you do." Laura responded.

"Such hostility from such a young girl." Rowland said menacingly. "One might question your upbringing. I thought that you might be one of my son's...indiscretions." Laura barely controlled her anger. She mentally pictured Rex and his father hanging upside down above a pit of deadly poisonous snakes, and slowly lowering them, face first, into the hole.

Why make the poor snakes suffer? she mentally rationalized. "That would never happen." Gold Wing said haughtily. "The temptation to slit his throat in the middle of the night would be too great." She laughed evilly. "You're not threatening a member of my family are you, uh...miss...?" Randolph had gathered his full arrogant wits again.

"The name is Gold Wing..." Laura began. "And no, I would never threaten...I just do. Threats wouldn't impress a man like you. I just dislike the idea of you playing God. Experimenting on live human beings, by using chemically induced genetic manipulations intrigues me." Laura picked him up and tossed him effortlessly onto a nearby plush, brown leather couch.

"You can't prove any of that, of course." Randolph remarked smugly. "No, no I can't." Laura admitted, unwilling to show any more of her cards. The crate that she'd found on Geneseo land, by itself, didn't prove everything. "Besides, who's going to believe the word of a curvy, costumed young woman over a gigantic, powerful business mogul like yourself?" She toyed with him.

"I can only imagine huge international contracts, massive government subsidies, political patronage, campaign contributors...say, isn't your son Rex considering running for local political office?" Gold Wing sneered. "I bet that the voting electorate would be really interested in some of your more clandestine projects, to say nothing of the moral ambivalence of it all."

Randolph's smug smile turned quickly to a scowl. "You have a vivid imagination, Miss...Gold Wing, did you say? Perhaps you're just a powerful girl, with an activism fetish, or you've seen too many Tom Clancy movies." Laura scoffed. "Perhaps. One day you or Rex will screw up, and I'll be there to watch you both fall. For now, my friends have organized a series of protests against Rowland Chemicals."

"That won't get you anywhere." Randolph challenged. "Oh, you'd be surprised, Rowland. The pen is mightier than the sword and all that." Laura taunted. "The name of the game right now is public relations for Rowland Chemicals. Regardless, I will see you and your son brought down."

"I trust not." Randolph countered. "You're playing a dangerous game, Gold Wing." Laura sneered. "This is no game, Rowland. This is a fundamental battle between good and evil." She added. "Brave talk from a silly little girl wearing a mask." Randolph said angrily. Laura smirked. "Good night, Mr. Rowland, and I'll see myself out." With that, Laura zipped up to the rooftop exit.

Rowland was furious. "Security! We have an intruder on the roof." He barked into a nearby intercom. Two apish security guards raced to the roof and into Rowland's penthouse office.

Laura had succeeded in rattling Rowland's cage. Her hope was that the mogul or his evil son would get sloppy and make a mistake. She'd have to catch them in the act of something illicit. That way the courts could make it stick. Ape one and ape two had spotted Laura playfully walking along the edge of the roof.

They hustled towards her, night sticks in hand. Each had a small caliber revolver in a sidearm holster. Laura turned to face them. With a devastating smile, the Gold Wing leapt from the roof downward. The guards cursed and watched helplessly as she soared across the alley way.

Laura landed gracefully on the rooftop of an office building's thirty fourth floor. The moonlight framed Gold Wing's slim silhouette against the dark backdrop of the large city of Lincoln. She dashed away, effortlessly vaulting from rooftop to rooftop until she was on solid ground again.


	10. Chapter 10: Angel of Destruction

MHX Geneseo: _Angel of Destruction _**Chapter 10**

PG-13 Violent Images

After her confrontation with Randolph Rowland, Laura decided that she needed more evidence that Rowland Chemicals was behind the genetic manipulation of the kids that lived in the dead town of Geneseo, Nebraska. She zipped over to the Illinois MHX facility to investigate.

The MHX or Meta Human Experiment project was originated in Illinois some fifty years ago. Successful testing hadn't begun until the late nineteen eighties. Laura arrived on the scene in moments, and to her good fortune, the MHX facility was still standing, albeit in a state of decline and disrepair. The buildings allegedly closed in late nineteen ninety-three.

Laura stopped briefly to read the warning sign placed at roughly eye level. It stated 'Warning: Government Facility, No Trespassing, Hazardous waste removal in progress.' The sign had nearly rusted through, and Laura deftly leapt over the ten-foot high lengths of barbed wire that topped the damaged old fence. She landed gracefully atop a muddy hill.

Laura warily approached the first of the rusting blue metal buildings, listening intensely for any sounds of life. Silence. The hazardous waste removal in progress was obviously a ruse to keep people from nosing around the supposedly dangerous facility.

Just in case there might be some surveillance cameras that were still operable, Laura quickly zipped into her Gold Wing outfit, and began to explore the outer perimeter. She conserved her hyper speed based on the possibility that she might need her energy level at full. If she ran into any resistance, say a rogue mutant or something, she'd better be at top Loracite capacity.

With the right mix of stealth and speed, Gold Wing ought to be able to thoroughly investigate the facility. She doubted if any evidence linking Rowland Chemicals to MHX would be left, but one had to try every angle. At least that's what any good detective worth her salt should do.

Laura entered building after building, and as she expected, no evidence was found. She was about to give up when a small metal box caught her attention. It lay in a corner of a partially dug out room near the waste recycling bins. The metal box was about a foot long and leaned against a garbage pail. Laura picked up the box, which had a foul smell surrounding it.

She warily opened the box and was horrified. The container held a small skeleton, amazingly intact. Laura could barely keep from hurling. It was obviously the skeleton of a baby. Gold Wing was nearly in tears before the rage began to take over. She closed the metal makeshift coffin, and stuck it in a garbage bag that she'd found earlier. There was her evidence.

Gold Wing located a rusted metal door that was slightly unhinged. It revealed a type of storage room. Laura descended the few stairs into the darkened, below ground area. The whole section smelled bad. Laura feared the worst. She lit a newspaper that lay near the room with her matches.

The newspaper burned too quickly, but soon Laura's fears were realized. Eighteen such metal boxes of varying length and size were scattered about the storage room. The rage began to build, but she wondered how the slick and powerful Rowland Chemicals could have been so sloppy as to leave the destroyed fetuses and children out in the open where anyone could find them.

Laura grabbed the first skeleton and zipped back to Falcon Claw. The problem with her evidence was that Rowland Chemicals could claim that they knew nothing about the failed fetuses, and they could have been left on that property by anyone. DNA testing could help, she surmised, but what if the skeletons had been completely created from scratch?

If Rowland Chemicals was toying with genetic manipulations, the DNA could've come from anywhere or anyone, she considered, which enraged her all the more. Her first instinct was to simply call the police, but that would let Rowland Chemicals off the hook for the evil they'd done. No, Laura thought. Rowland and his cronies will have to pay.

Additionally, she'd been trespassing and had no legal basis for being on the restricted property. That, again, would let Rowland off the hook should any claims make it to court. There was always the anonymous call in to the local police, yet could they come up with a warrant to search the facility, and what of the 'government facility, hazardous waste' warning?

How far up the chain did this conspiracy go? Laura wondered silently. Feeling like she was boxing herself into a corner, she decided that the Gold Wing would strike back. Laura was in over her head, and she knew it. All of this power, and I've never felt so helpless, she thought sourly.

Laura sighed, and ingested a huge shake filled with refined Loracite that Tim had created for her. The taste wasn't bad considering that Tim was no cook, she mused. Laura waited for the inevitable power surge, that amped up her abilities, to hit her tortured mind.

Laura's eyes went violet as the energy surge hit maximum. "That was quite a rush." She muttered, as she sat on the porch of her Aunt Wanda's farmhouse. The boxed fetal skeleton lay on the floor of the barn. Laura had left it there over an hour ago, as she tried to gather up the courage for what she knew that she needed to do.

Laura called Tim at home on his cell phone, and sped over to his house. "Tim, I'm going to burn it down…burn it all down." Laura menaced, her tone was a mixture of anger and disgust. "Burn what down?" Tim shuddered. He'd never heard his best friend since high school sound so out of it, so filled with despair.

"Burn down Rowland Chemicals…all of it." Laura's eyes had glazed over. Tim backed away from Laura a bit. "Laurie…your eyes…they glow." He mentioned worriedly. Laura glanced in the Servo family car's mirror. "So they do." She sounded to Tim like she didn't care.

"Are we talking major arson here?" Tim inquired shakily. Laura went into the horrific story about the destroyed fetuses. Tim was disgusted as well, yet he couldn't believe that the usually levelheaded Laura would contemplate such massive destruction, all of it would be illegal.

"Laurie, I know that you're pissed, but what if you accidentally hurt or kill someone?" Tim was always the voice of logic and reason. "I'll be careful." She replied, but Tim remained unconvinced. "Rowland will have to pay for this."

"What if you get caught?" Tim asked, though he already knew the answer. "Tim, no human on Earth can catch me, seriously, outside of maybe Clark and Bart Allen." She added smugly. "Yeah, but is it right?" Tim continued to try and reason with the Meta human teen.

"What is right and what's wrong?" Laura argued in vain. "It's not right that Rowland and his cronies could get away, literally, with murder. Justice must be served." These statements sent chills down Tim's spine. "You're placing yourself as judge, and jury." He countered. "What's next, executioner?"

"Don't be melodramatic!" Laura snapped. "I'm right, and I want to know if you're going to help me?" She was putting Tim in a tight spot. He gulped, wrestling with all of the ramifications of how to answer Laura's question. "You're just going to do it anyway, aren't you?" He hedged.

"Tim, it's simple. Either you're in or you're out." Laura retorted stubbornly. "It is not that simple." Tim argued strongly. "We're crossing a line here." Laura was growing more impatient. Tim wondered if she'd overdosed on the Loracite drink. He'd never seen her this fired up.

"All I need you to do is hack into Rowland Chemical's mainframe database." Laura explained. "I'll do the rest." Tim sighed. "You're sure that no one will be hurt or killed?" He waffled. "I promise not to kill anyone." She vowed as Tim noted the omission of anyone being was angry that Laura was being unreasonable.

Tim swallowed hard. "Fine! What do you need? If I don't help you, you'll screw it up and get caught." Laura breathed a sigh of relief. "All I want is the locations of every Rowland Chemical factory, office building, laboratory, and research facility."

"Anything else? Like Rowland's mother's maiden name, or social security number?" Tim asked in an unusually sarcastic tone. "No Tim, just the businesses and hopefully the posted employee work schedules. I want as few people around as possible." Laura added arrogantly.

"I don't get it Laurie, why destroy random buildings? Don't you want some potential evidence to link Rowland and his minions to the crimes?" Tim inquired logically. "Yes, that would be nice, but I also want Rowland to pay financially for his evil indiscretions." She replied.

Tim gulped. "I have another plan." Laura's violet blue eyes had widened. "Such as?" Tim sighed. "I can have my friend at STARLABS run the DNA from the corpses…all of them." Laura knew what that meant. She would have to bring all of the skeletons to her Aunt's barn.

"Tim, that's even more risky than my destruction plan." Laura gasped. "What if someone finds the corpses on my Aunt's property and accuses her of being a serial killer?"

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	11. Chapter 11: The Path not Taken

Chapter 11: MHX / The Legend of Kara - a new story arc crossover

Kara Zor El Kent soared through the darkened Nebraska sky. She was on her way to visit her best friend, Laura Lake. Just as Kara zipped down towards Falcon Claw, Laura's hometown, a horrendous explosion in the distance attracted her. "Now what?" Kara muttered. "I just got here."

A chemical plant had just burst into flames. People ran screaming away from it, some hopping into their cars and SUVs, others kept right on running until they felt that they had gotten far enough away from the inferno. Kara flew overhead to investigate. "I've got a bad feeling about this." She grumbled.

The plant had been owned by Rowland Chemicals, Laura Lake slash Gold Wing's arch nemesis. Kara gulped as an uneasy feeling overtook her. It was not likely to be a coincidence that Rowland Chemicals just happened to explode, a mere thirty miles from her friend Laura's house.

Kara slowed down and decided to x-ray the area for possible injured employees. She noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently, and thankfully, the workers had been able to escape the towering blaze. One skeleton did show up on Kara's x-ray radar. In the middle of the melting walls, sparking electrical wires, and other fallen debris, stood a young, dark haired female.

"Laura?" Kara called worriedly into the fire as the last vestiges of the flaming ceiling fell in. "K Girl? What are you doing here? Besides, tonight, I'm Gold Wing, the Angel of Destruction." Kara was confused as she dropped down from the smoke filled sky.

"What's all this about?" Kara landed amidst the smoldering ruin, mere steps from her good friend. "You did all this? Why?" Laura, her Gold Wing outfit torn in several still burning spots, looked dazed. "You won't understand. You and Clark will never understand." Laura's eyes glowed a bright violet purple.

Kara shuddered. Had Laura fallen off the deep end? A young woman with that much power suddenly gone mad? Laura stood staring blankly straight ahead. Kara closed in on her carefully. "C'mon honey, let's get out of here. The fire department and police are on their way." She urged.

Laura reluctantly took Kara's elbow, as the alien beauty lifted off. Tearing through the air with Laura didn't affect Kara's flying ability at all. She zipped the stricken teen back to her Aunt Wanda's farm. Kara set Laura down on a hay bale within the family barn. Laura continued to stare straight ahead.

Something was definitely wrong with her best friend, Kara thought. "Talk to me." She urged. Laura slowly turned towards Kara. "I'm going to burn it down, burn it all down." Laura said without any emotion in her voice. "You did that much already." Kara snapped. "I want to know why."

_Two weeks earlier_:

Laura knew what she had to do. Reluctantly she returned to the Rowland Chemicals abandoned test lab in Illinois. She checked every small metal casket for remains, finding only fifteen juvenile skeletons. She painstakingly dug up every one and re-buried them in Geneseo, Nebraska.

Tim extracted DNA samples from every one of the deceased, after nearly hurling a few times. "I guess we can call this CSI Geneseo." He made a lame attempt at humor. Laura was in no mood for levity. Tim was worried that should Laura choose to, she could be a formidable agent of destruction. His slim hope was that she'd calm down after a short while.

If Tim felt that Laura was going off the rails, his only recourse would be to call Clark or Kara to try and reason with the distraught super hero.

He dared wonder about the worst case scenario…could Clark or Kara even defeat Laura if need be?

"It would take some time to analyze the DNA samples, Laurie." Tim pointed out. Laura listened halfheartedly as she helped him organize the samples for transport, placing each bit of DNA, a hair follicle, skin particle, loose tooth, whatever he could find, into a refrigerated test tube.

"This is like a hideous version of Jurassic Park." Tim remarked snidely. Laura's face was stoic. She hadn't smiled or laughed in days, by Tim's estimation. He was truly worried about her. She'd have to open up to someone. Laura couldn't keep all of the raging feelings to herself.

"Laurie, why don't you take a quick vacation…maybe zip down to Florida and relax for a few days?" Tim prodded. "We can't resolve anything in less than a week's time, based on the complicated procedure needed to examine every bit of DNA we found."

Laura stared ahead blankly. "I'm fine, Tim, really." She said, her voice devoid of emotion. Denial? He fretted silently. That's not good. "Would you feel better if we said a few words over the deceased?" He was willing to try anything to get the Gold Wing to relax.

"Sure. Why not?" Laura's eyes glowed violet purple as Tim shuddered. She took him over to where she'd buried the experimentation victims in Geneseo, right near the other adults that had passed away. Laura explained that they were likely the true biological parents of the mutant kids.

"Yea, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…" Laura and Tim read the popular funeral incantation. "I will be sworn to avenge your deaths, as I will avenge the deaths of my parents." Laura concluded. Tim turned pale. "Laurie, that's not how the prayer goes." He whined. "That's how mine goes." Gold Wing said menacingly.

Just then, little Sedna, the girl with extraordinary agility and speed, happened upon Tim and Laura. "Hi. What're you doing?" She asked with all the innocence of youth. "We were praying over the people that died." Laura explained as she carefully picked the scrappy eight-year old up.

Sedna didn't resist. "This is my friend, Tim." Laura introduced. "Why?" Sedna wondered, as her eyes widened. "Why what, honey?" Gold Wing asked, as a thin smile finally crossed her lips. "Why are you talking to the dead?" Sedna was thoroughly puzzled.

"To make ourselves feel better." Tim sighed as he answered. "You know honey, some people say that the dead can hear you praying." Laura tried to explain. Tim shifted nervously. I hope not. He silently mused. "Can I pray, too?" Sedna offered. "Sure." Laura put the girl down near the burial mounds. "What do you want to say to them?" Laura encouraged.

"I would ask them why they left us all here alone." Sedna showed intelligence beyond her years. Before Sedna could continue, three more mutant children arrived. Tim gulped, unsure of what to do next. He partially hid behind Gold Wing.

Laura slowly assumed an attack position, and awaited the MHX kids' first move, but none came. "Laura?" A young man about fifteen asked. "That's me, and you are?" She tried to keep the challenging tone out of her voice. "I'm called Dash. This is Blaze and Chase." He gestured towards the teen females standing near him.

Laura had relaxed her martial arts pose, as Sedna clung to Gold Wing's lengthy thigh. "What's new?" She asked no one in particular. Blaze was the first to answer. "Terre is being a jerk. He bosses everybody around and hits kids that don't listen." Laura's eyes narrowed.

"He hits kids?" Gold Wing hissed. Tim's blood ran cold. He was already thinking several moves ahead of Laura and Blaze. "I'll just have to have a talk with him." Laura threatened. "It doesn't work. We tried that." Chase, who prided herself on using the abilities of a feral cat, added.

"Other kids are joining him." Dash put in. "Bear, Shadow, Syren, Wraith, Raptor, Chimera, and Strife Havoc, have all sided with Terre. They're all pretty much being jerks." Laura didn't like where this was heading. "We have other kids on our side." Blaze boasted.

Tim continued to pale. He realized that they were likely looking at an MHX Kids mutant war, if Laura was accurate about her portrayal of the genetically enhanced humans. This had to be stopped, but how? He wondered silently.

"Yeah." Dash continued. "We have Starr Fox, Skyye, Cyber, Gothika, Vertigo, and Shimmer on our side." Laura fumed. "The younger ones like Sedna, Solara, Sparks, and Flicker hadn't made their minds up yet." Chase informed them.

"Psychee, and Diamond Girl were trying to keep everybody from fighting." Dash added. "Sometimes the kids listen, sometimes they don't." Laura took a deep breath, fully aware of the implications. If the MHX kids chose to go rogue, there would be hell to pay…for everyone.

"What started the fights?" Laura forced her voice to sound calm. "Besides Terre, and Strife Havoc being jerks, some of us wanted to leave." Dash informed them nervously. "Leave?" Tim echoed. "Yeah, leave Geneseo. It's boring, and we don't have any other friends." Chase complained. "Terre won't let us play or look up things on the computer." Blaze chimed in.

"Have you talked to the others, meaning the people that bring you food?" Laura fished. "No. Strife Havoc and Terre won't let us talk to the others. They said that the others are adults and we don't need them." Dash continued. "Yet, they bring you food." Tim pointed out.

"Do you have any special powers?" Blaze asked Tim curiously. He was white as a sheet. "Uh…Tim's talent is to be a royal pain in my butt." Laura joked, deflecting a response. Blaze quickly sidled up to Tim to get a closer look at him. Tim froze in place.

He could feel the warmth from the thirteen-year old flame throwing Meta human. Her slender body gave off some type of heat transfer, making Tim sweat. Blaze circled him like she'd never seen a 'normal' human before, and likely she hadn't.

Laura struggled with what to do next. She was clearly in over her head. Even the Gold Wing couldn't stop a mutant war alone. She'd have to involve Clark and Kara, and likely Chloe, too. Her plans to systematically destroy all of Rowland Chemicals questionable lab plants would have to wait. She was silent for a moment while Dash and Chase moved in closer toward her.

"How would you guys like to come over to Metropolis to meet our friends?" Laura offered as Tim's mouth dropped open. Blaze poked Tim's shoulder, making him jump. "Are you okay?" She asked suspiciously. "Yeah! I'm fine!" Tim's voice rose.

"You're weird." Blaze narrowed her bright green eyes. "You have no idea." Laura quipped.

"Sure." Chase literally jumped at the chance, making a stunning vertical leap straight onto a thick tree branch. The feral Meta human smelled the air behind them. "We should go soon. Strife Havoc and Terre are on their way here." Dash zipped past Laura and the others, checking on the newly built burial mounds behind their parents' graves.

"Whose are these?" Dash asked Laura. Tim gasped as Chase vaulted down behind him, a good thirty-foot leap. "We don't know exactly…" Laura paused before dropping the bomb on them. "They could very well be your brothers and sisters."

Sedna pulled on Laura's leg. "Yeah, honey?" Gold Wing asked tenderly. "Can we bring Solara, Sparks, and Flicker?" Sedna was worried about her young friends. "We might as well. They'd be safer with us than Strife Havoc, Terre, and Bear." Laura reasoned.

"How are we getting everyone to Metropolis?" Tim asked rationally as he sidestepped Chase, who leapt atop a burial mound. "Hmmm! I guess we should start by zipping them to Falcon Claw, which is much closer. We can take my Aunt Wanda's business van, since she's out of town this weekend." Laura offered. "I'll get the young ones." Chase offered as she sped away.

"Dash, you can carry Sedna, I'll carry Tim, Blaze and Chase will bring Solara and Sparks, okay?" Laura made it sound more like a suggestion than a directive, assuming that it would go over better, given the Meta kids' attitudes. Dash and Blaze nodded.

"Aren't you guys adults?" Dash asked out of the clear blue sky. "That's a matter of opinion." Tim quipped. "I mean why would you help us?" Blaze picked up on the line of questioning. "We like to help everyone we can." Laura explained calmly.

Tim observed Laura's change in mood. Seeing the MHX kids again seemed to improve her attitude. He let out a breath that he'd forgotten he'd been holding. His hope was that Laura would step back from the abyss of vengeance that she'd seemed to be heading towards.

_Big City_:

The MHX kids followed Laura's plan, and soon they were on the road to Metropolis in her Aunt Wanda's van. "This thing moves too slow." Dash complained. "Are we there, yet?" Sedna whined as Laura chuckled. "Has there ever been an eight year old that hasn't said that?" She glanced at Tim, who was petrified, seated in between Blaze and Chase.

After an arduous journey, the van entered the outskirts of Metropolis. As expected, the MHX kids oohed and awed at the silvery and blue skyscrapers that dotted the huge city's downtown area. Laura pointed out the globe atop the Daily Planet, and Chloe's Watchtower building.

Tim silently recalled that Watchtower was supposed to be a secret, but made no mention of it to Laura. Apparently, his friend had decided that the MHX kids were a bigger secret. "I'm hungry!" Dash whined. Laura had been expecting that, and had chosen a common restaurant near the Daily Planet to feed the kids. "One mutant Happy Meal coming up." Tim joshed.

Only Laura laughed. It was clear that the MHX kids had never been out of Geneseo before. They were amazed at everything, from fire hydrants to stone gargoyles. She parked the van and the children quickly piled out. "Remember what we discussed in the ride over here?" Laura grilled.

"Yeah! Yeah! No using our powers." Blaze repeated. "You only said that like a billion times." Laura smirked as Tim gratefully slipped out into the restaurant ahead of everyone. He chose a large enough booth far away from the rest of the patrons.

A waitress came by and took their orders. One thing was constant in both the Meta human world and the normal realm…children loved junk food. The crew chatted pleasantly and finished every last bite of their food, and drank every drop of their drinks. To the rest of Metropolis, the MHX kids were simply normal acting teens and preteens.

Solara, Sparks, and Flicker had all been rather silent, possibly overwhelmed by the sudden change of scenery. The curious nine year old finally questioned Laura. "Laurie, do you work here in this big city?" Laura shook her head. "No Solara, not officially, but I do have a lot of friends that live and work here." Sparks belched loudly, cracking everyone up.

"Sparks, we say 'excuse me' if we burp." Laura chastised the grinning six year old. "Okay. Excuse me!" He corrected. "That's better." Laura praised. With that, it was time to go.  
Laura and Tim led the children to Chloe's Watchtower building. They filed into the service elevator, and Tim pressed the alert button for Chloe. An intercom buzzed at them. "Yes?" Chloe's nervous voice asked. "Hey Chloe, this is Laura and …um…some friends."

"So I see." Chloe's tone was menacing. She was watching the elevator camera. It soon reached the tower's top floor. The doors slid open and Laura led the mutant offspring into the center of the monitor screen filled room. Oliver Queen was reclining on a black leather couch nearby.

"Holy cats! What's with the Brady Bunch?" Oliver asked sarcastically as he spied the entourage. "Oliver." Laura sneered. "These friends of mine are the vanguard of genetically engineered children." She dropped the bomb on them. "Whoa!" Chloe exclaimed.

"From oldest to youngest girls are Blaze, Chase, Flicker, Solara, and Sedna. The two boys are Dash, and Sparks." Laura introduced the overwhelmed children to them. "Cute names." Oliver quipped. "Much better than Arrow?" Chloe needled, as Laura smirked.

"The concept of a secret control center is lost on you, then?" Oliver chastised Laura and Tim. "Trust me. You'd better be aware of what you're up against." Laura snarled. "These children here are only about a quarter of the survivors of Rowland Chemicals' MHX Project."

"The survivors?" Chloe echoed with disdain. "Yes." Laura looked down at the plush emerald green carpet, barely able to control her building anger. If the Loracite continued to pump through her system, the fear was that she could lose control, and start tearing up everything.

"At least fifteen to seventeen other MHX kids were lost." Laura gulped. "Lost?" Oliver grimaced. "Yes. The Meta Human Experiments were not completely successful." Tim put in. "Some genetically enhanced children did not survive." Sedna was starting to get upset, so Laura quickly held the little girl's hand. "Relax, honey." Laura bent down to face Sedna. "You're safe here."

"There are still at least eighteen more MHX kids that I counted in Geneseo, Nebraska." Laura returned her attention to Chloe. "Geez! Do you have any idea what this means?" Oliver gasped. "Yes. You'd better be prepared." Laura warned.

"I suggest that we try and win over as many of the enhanced children as we can." Tim offered, logically. "Believe me, you don't want to piss them off." Laura added. "We'll have to do some tests." Chloe sighed. "No! You're not turning us into pincushions!" Blaze objected.

"No, it's a really easy thing." Chloe reasoned. "We'll get a simple blood test, and DNA test from each of you. I promise it will only hurt a bit." Laura flushed, but she knew deep down that Chloe was right. "Will there be blood?" Little Sparks asked with an odd thrill in his voice.

"Yes. Only a bit." Chloe said honestly. "Neat!" Sparks said cynically. "We'll see how neat you think it is when it's your blood." Solara teased him. "You'll survive." Oliver grumbled. "Can we see what you guys can do?" Chloe asked the kids in a very sweet tone.

"Uh…you might want to step back." Tim warned everyone. "Sure." Dash, the oldest boy smiled. He loved to show off. Dash sped into hyper speed, running in circles within the tight quarters of the Watchtower loft. "I wonder if that was such a great idea." Oliver complained to Chloe.

Dash was very fast, but he could still be seen, unlike Bart, Clark, Kara, or Laura. He slowed to a stop with precision accuracy, a mere few inches from Chloe's face.  
"Wow!" Chloe shook her lengthening blonde locks. Dash was nearly as tall as Chloe already. Laura had estimated that the speedy MHX kid was about twelve or thirteen. "Who's next?" Tim encouraged. "Wait!" Oliver held his hand up. "Please don't damage anything!"

Solara nodded as she vaulted onto a computer monitor filled rack, hanging from its edge. The agile nine year old then leapt a good fifteen feet backwards in an acrobatic flip, landing lightly on another desktop. She skirted its edge, and corkscrewed laterally onto he couch beside Oliver.

"Nice!" Chloe praised. Solara beamed with satisfaction. "Watch this! Ready Sollie?" Flicker asked confidently. "Go for it, dude." Solara joked. The blonde haired thirteen year old physically touched the wall above a nearby electrical outlet. Chloe gasped as electricity arced onto her finger! "Be careful, honey!" Laura urged. Flicker held the electrical arc in the palm of her hand.

"Wow!" Oliver's eyes widened. "Be careful of our sensitive electronic equipment, please." He reminded the overly confident teen. Flicker gestured upward in a ballet type of move. The electrical arc leapt off her upraised hand into her lower hand like a Slinky toy.

She literally tossed the electrical arc over to Solara, who caught it in the palm of her hand. "That tickles!" She laughed as her hand absorbed the electricity. Solara's eyes briefly went yellow, before she fluttered her eyelids, and they returned to normal.

"That's some trick!" Tim was unusually impressed. Chloe's jaw dropped as she recalled the unpleasant memories of dealing with BRAINIAC, who could also manipulate electricity. "My turn!" Chase volunteered. Clearly, the children weren't shy about their unusual talents.

The tall, slim fourteen year old stalked around the room like a lioness, just for show. She glanced up at the rafters, a good twenty feet above their heads. Chase closed her eyes to concentrate, and vertically vaulted straight up, her lengthy brown hair hung in disarray as she went upside down, wrapping her long legs around the thick rafter directly above Oliver's couch.

Oliver gawked as Chase flipped her lithe body vertical again, squeezing between the crossbeams, dropping below, and hanging from them with her arms, like children often do when they're playing on monkey bars at a playground. "That's amazing!" Chloe praised.

Chase continued her acrobatics by going hand over hand along a smaller set of rafters, which led to the room's dimly lit corner. She literally bounced off the wall, and dropped down its full length, elegantly landing on her feet. Chase's eyes were neon green as she sped back to Chloe.

Tim applauded, recognizing Chase's skills, and she sarcastically curtsied, bowing low like a circus performer. "What do we call that talent?" Laura inquired. "I call it 'going feral'!" Chase playfully boasted. "Works for me." Oliver agreed. "Are you ready, Seddie?" Laura encouraged. "No!" Sedna responded, grabbing onto Laura's leg tightly. "Awww!" Chloe smiled.

"I guess I'm up next." Blaze cleared her throat as she spoke. "I'll need some props." Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Props?" Blaze glanced around the room. "This'll do." She said, grabbing a medium sized circular metal garbage can near one of Chloe's workstations. She dumped the garbage on the floor, as Oliver looked on with growing interest.

Blaze found a Daily Planet newspaper from a week ago. "Are you done with this?" She asked Chloe politely. "Yes." Watchtower's heart and soul responded. "Great." Blaze said. "Sparks, can you help me?" The six-year-old boy had been conspicuously silent. "Okay." He finally said.

Sparks held the newspaper above the garbage can by one corner. "Ready? Just how we practiced." Blaze instructed. "Okay." Sparks didn't appear to be worried about what was to come. Blaze concentrated on the newspaper, staring at it for a few seconds.

The edge of the newspaper suddenly burst into flames, startling Chloe, Tim, and Oliver. "Okay, Sparks, let it go!" Blaze directed. Instead of the paper falling into the can and burning to ash, which would have been less spectacular, somehow, Blaze held it in place above the can.

She circled in towards the paper, letting it burn about halfway through. Using hand gestures, Blaze folded the flaming paper from a distance into objects resembling an angel, a bird, and a lizard. She let them circle above the can, dropping ash and embers into it.

The figures were starting to grow smaller. "Okay, Sparks, get them!" Blaze ordered. The little boy concentrated on the flaming paper figures. From about three feet away, he seemed to knock them out of the air with miniature flaming balls, similar to something that Clark could do.

Oliver and Chloe gawked. She'd seen meteor freaks that could create fire, but she'd never seen any that could manipulate the flames with such precision. The burning paper dropped harmlessly into the garbage can, and Sparks glanced at it to make sure all the embers were dead. "Impressive! Just don't let Clark and Lois see you burning their paper." Oliver quipped.

In this way, Blaze and Sparks were more similar to Maddie Van Horn, who could easily manipulate glass shards. The Meta Human children were exceptional; Chloe mused, but could just as easily be turned towards evil. This scared her to death. Laura had been right in bringing the gifted mutants to hers and Oliver's attention, yet, what exactly could they do about it?


	12. Chapter 12: Angel of Destruction2

**Chapter 12**: _Angel of Destruction_

The children had settled down, and were watching Chloe's multiple monitors with fascination. Flicker was a natural computer genius. She quickly figured out how to observe any point in Metropolis and then some, on Chloe's Watchtower console.

Afraid to discuss the children's future in front of them, Chloe and Oliver text messaged their conversation, as Laura and Tim monitored the Meta Human kids. Oliver began. 'What are we supposed to do with them? If they don't have any known living relatives, we can't very well place them in an orphanage, they would tear the place to pieces.'

Chloe responded: 'We might not be able to send them back to Geneseo, if what Laura says is true, and the older kids are becoming dictators over the younger MHX's. The government would love to get their hands on the kids and turn them into mutant assassins.'

'There's a cheery thought.' Oliver texted. 'So would Rex Rowland, Lex Luthor, Tess Mercer, and on and on. Laura wasn't exaggerating. The MHX kids could literally destroy the world. At the very least, they would cause destruction and mayhem, possibly killing and injuring thousands.'

'We're in over our heads, Chlo'.' Oliver continued, as his fingers zipped across the Raspberry's text program. 'Call the team together. We have to brainstorm a solution.' Chloe nodded silently. 'For now, we should send the kids to Clark and Kara in Smallville. Hide them on the farm.'

'Agreed.' Oliver sent a new text to Clark and Kara, warning them of the plan. "Hey kids!" Chloe began sweetly. "How'd you like to see a real working farm, with animals and everything?" Laura knew exactly what Chloe and Oliver had decided. The question was whether it would work or not. About half the kids stared at Chloe blankly. The younger ones sounded excited.

"Neat!" Sparks said with enthusiasm. Laura felt odd about that response. "Sparks, we can't fry or kill the animals." She amended. Chloe looked at Laura in horror. "Oh. Okay. No problem." Sparks did sound a bit disappointed. Chills ran down Oliver's spine, as he thought about the potential of the MHX kids for damage.

Blaze huddled in closely to Tim. He again felt her body heat, making him sweat profusely. "Awesome!" Chase said as she vaulted atop the small catwalk high above them. Flicker amused herself by causing some electrical arcs t dance around like a water fountain during a windstorm.

"Maybe, we'd better get going." Laura urged. "Yeah, that would be best." Oliver agreed. "I'll be along shortly." Chloe offered, telegraphing her plan to call the rest of Oliver's team in on this bizarre get together to Laura. "Let's go kids." Gold Wing hustled them towards the loft elevator.

"Can't I just climb down the tower?" Sedna asked. "No, sweetie." Laura replied. "Aww!" Sedna whined like a completely normal child. Looking like a mother duck and her ducklings, the strange entourage filed out into the elevator, and eventually the street. They began the ride to Smallville.

"Are we there yet?" Dash decided to start the new tradition. Laura chuckled as Tim edged away from Chase, who seemed to be growling slightly, just to tease him. As they neared the Kent Farm, Laura felt the familiar nervousness return to the pit of her stomach.

Laura refused to admit that she was falling in love with Clark. She was trying to put it off, and ignore her feelings, but hadn't been able to convince herself otherwise. She sighed, and tried to focus on the mission. The children. This MHX debacle was bigger than both of them.

The MHX kids piled out of the business van, and glanced around the farm. "Ew! It smells!" Solara commented as she held her nose. Laura laughed and led the children towards Clark's aunt's farmhouse. Kara was there to greet the motley crew.

"Wow! She's pretty!" Dash remarked quietly, but of course, Kara heard him. After introductions were made, the alien super girl gave the kids a tour of the house, yard, and barn loft. "You know, for an old one, Kara is very cool!" Blaze praised to Flicker and Chase. The older girls were starting to bond, without being distracted by the other MHX kids back in Geneseo.

Laura and Tim were left to watch the youngsters. Solara, and Sedna immediately climbed the trees which lined the yard, while Sparks amused himself by burning leaves with his eye blasts. Tim shook his head. "How're we going to pull this off, Laurie?"

"I haven't a clue, Tim." Gold Wing tiredly admitted. She'd let the Loracite levels within her infused bloodstream wear down, part of her attempt to remain as normal and human as possible. "Not exactly the ringing endorsement that I was hoping for." Tim complained. "This is uncharted territory, Tim." Laura continued.

"We'll have to trust Clark and Oliver to make the right decision. Maybe Chloe and the others will have some ideas as well." She yawned, a very unusual occurrence for Gold Wing to be sure. Tim nervously shifted his weight. "Don't let your Loracite level fall too low, Laurie, or you may go comatose." She nodded, barely acknowledging Tim's presence.

Back at Watchtower, Chloe had begun to call the team together. "Canary, on line. Impulse, on line. Aquaman, on line. Cyborg, on line. Hawkman, on line. Star Girl, on line." The calls came pouring in. "Arrow, on line." Oliver sat comfortably behind Chloe, his hand in her lap.

Clark and Lois were having their own problems at the Daily Planet. He'd received Chloe's text message about the MHX kids, and was looking for an excuse to leave Lois to her work. Naturally, she'd hooked into a major story, and was currently briefing Clark on the background info.

"Check this out, Smallville, three Rowland Chemicals companies have been severely damaged in the last week. One, in Grandville, had its most secure database broken into by a cyber hacker, and was inundated with a powerful virus, nearly eliminating all technological files." Lois continued.

"Another, not far from Coast City, was flooded throughout the bottom three floors, by a freak water main break beneath the factory. There hadn't been any rain in Coast City for over two weeks." Lois read the reports on the Rowland Chemical's public website.

"The most recent one happened just outside of Falcon Claw, Nebraska." Lois hesitated. Now Clark's interest was piqued. "A Rowland Chemicals research and development laboratory was literally burnt to the ground. Fortunately, in all three events, no one was injured."

"Isn't your girlfriend from Falcon Claw?" Lois threw in the dig. "Technically, we're just seeing each other." Clark reddened, unsure of how to quantify his relationship with Laura. "Oh. Okay." Lois snickered, and glanced back at her computer monitor. "Maybe she could shed some light on the blast?" Clark shrugged. "I really wouldn't know, Lois."


	13. Chapter 13: Angel of Destruction3

_Angel of Destruction_ cont'd

Laura had finally convinced the MHX children to stay with Kara, Clark, and Tim for a bit, vowing to return soon. Her excuse was that she needed to zip home and drink some fresh Loracite shakes. The yellowish mineral was plentiful in and around Falcon Claw, specifically Comet Lake.

Tim had been trying to regulate Laura's Loracite intake, but he was no medical doctor, let alone an expert on Meta Human physiology. His attempt to help her deal with her unique abilities was admirable, but Laura was stubborn.

If she didn't want to be helped, there was no one that could convince her otherwise. They'd narrowed down her requirements to possibly two or three Loracite shakes per day. Any less would slow her metabolism down, but what if they'd increased her dosage?

Until now, Laura had been afraid to experiment beyond that stage. Now nineteen years old, she assumed that she always knew best. Tim had warned her that an overdose of the Loracite could damage her. He guessed at the possibilities of a heart attack, a stroke, or brain damage.

Naturally, Laura didn't always listen. Today she downed three Loracite shakes. The effect was immediate. Her eyes dilated, turning a bright orange yellow, her heart rate doubled, as the Loracite coursed through her system. The power boost sent her mental processes reeling.

Still partially human, her hormones went into flux. Laura sped through a range of emotions, finally settling on anger and retribution. In the back of her hyperactive mind, she thought about her rocky, off again on again relationship with Clark, and her disgust at what Rowland Chemicals had done to the Meta Human Experiment project children.

Laura crushed the glass from the Loracite shake with one hand into dust, and zipped off at hyper speed. In seconds she'd arrived at a Rowland Chemical research lab in Lake City. She tore off a corner of the lab's roof and zipped through the building, destroying every inanimate object in sight. The handful of lab employees scurried away, sounding the general alarm.

Security guards with automatic weapons, hand pistols, and stun-grenades poured in from their posts. Some were escorting the technicians off property, while others were hunting for Laura. Pity the ones that would eventually find her. Laura circled around to confront two heavily armed guards, throwing them each through a different wall.

She made her way to the facility's mainframe computer system room and ripped every shred of wire from the walls, ending her tirade by smashing their main server into so much electronic dust. Another lone security guard had cornered her with a small handgun and a Taser.

Laura stood defiantly before him, placing her hands on her shapely hips and laughing maniacally. "Really?" She mocked him. "They don't pay you enough to risk your life here, do they?" The guard gulped, shaking his head, and backed away. "Get lost!" Laura snarled. The guard complied.

Laura adjusted her Gold Wing mask and happily ran along the corridors at a slower speed, randomly trashing security cameras, scaring the remaining fleeing employees, and occasionally ripping water fountains from the wall, and cracking pipes, flooding the area.  
By now, Gold Wing could hear the approaching police, ambulance, and fire truck sirens. "Damn! I was just getting started." She complained loudly.

Back at Watchtower, Oliver's league meeting was just ending. Chloe had been monitoring the local Rowland Chemicals properties in hopes that she could verify any attacks that may come. Unfortunately, she was immediately rewarded. "Ollie, you'd better have a look at this."

Oliver glanced at the monitor over Chloe's slim shoulder. "We'd better call Clark, and let him handle it. If that's our Gold Wing gone wild, no one else may be able to stop her." He warned. Chloe gasped. "Ollie, I'm not convinced that Clark has the power or the will to stop her."

Oliver frowned. "I mean, how can we put her down?" Chloe's jaw dropped. "Put her down? Ollie, she's a human being, not a sick and elderly golden retriever." She countered. "I do get your point though. Gold Wing has most of Clark's powers, but none of his weaknesses."

"Then, our only hope is that Clark can talk some sense into her." Oliver pointed out. "How much damage are we talking, here, Chloe?" She shrugged. "Laura hasn't hurt anybody yet, as far as we know. I seem to recall a certain band of merry men trashing a number of LuthorCorp facilities."

"Still, we'd better call Tim Servo as well. Outside of Clark, he knows Laura best. I have his cell phone number." Chloe offered, as she tapped it into her console. "Tim? This is Chloe and Oliver." She began nervously as he answered. Chloe briefly explained the situation.

"This is bad, really bad!" Tim's complexion turned ashen white. "If Laura ingested too much Loracite, she could go off the deep end. I warned her time and time again about limiting her exposure." Oliver and Chloe didn't like where this was leading.

"Deep end?" Chloe echoed. "What exactly do you mean, Tim?" The teen genius swallowed hard. "Imagine your boy Clark hopped up on Red Kryptonite, and with a bad attitude. I have no idea how to bring her down. Laura would be like a rampaging elephant, tearing through the building. I'm not convinced that she can control her powers mentally or physically."

"Terrific." Oliver grimaced. "Can Clark stop her?" Tim sighed. "I don't know. Probably not without hurting her, and consider the collateral damage, if Clark and Laura threw down on some unsuspecting city or another." Oliver slammed his fist into his hand, startling Chloe.

"She's going to bring our whole operation down!" He yelled at the computer screen. "Tim, if we can get you close enough, can you talk her down?" Chloe suggested. "I can try, but if she decides to go off, I'm dead meat. She doesn't like me as much as she does Clark. He might have better luck. You all better hope that Clark can charm her back to normal, or she'll unleash hell."

"Oliver, we have to get to Clark. I can control him to some degree with green kryptonite, but Laura is another matter. We've never dealt with this powerful a Meta Human before." Chloe tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic from her voice. "Every meteor freak we've encountered had a weakness that either Clark or I could use against them. Gold Wing has none."

"The perfect killing machine." Oliver grumbled. "Ollie, let's not go there. We've survived worse, like the Kandorians, Doomsday, or even Lana, when she went rogue against us." Chloe reminded him. "We have to have faith." Oliver glanced down. "I have very little faith these days." He said.  
Chloe held his hand. "We'll get through this, we will." She managed to crack a brief smile. Kara had been listening to the frantic conversation from just beyond the den at the Kent's farmhouse. She quickly approached Tim. "I'll handle this. Laura will listen to me." Kara offered, as Oliver and Chloe listened worriedly. "Are you sure?" Oliver asked. "She'll have to." Kara replied.

Clark was still listening to Lois's diatribe about being a responsible journalist back at the Daily Planet. He'd chosen to ignore Chloe and Oliver's call for the moment. Kara was forced to leave the MHX kids with Tim as she flew off in search of her troubled friend Gold Wing.

"Wow! She can fly, too?" Sparks admired as Kara headed up high into the sapphire blue Kansas sky. The other kids watched in amazement as well, but their interest would soon dwindle, and they'd once again be Tim Servo's problem.

Kara soared towards Lake City. Chloe had pinpointed the exact location of the Rowland Chemicals lab. Kara only hoped that it wasn't too late, and that she could calm Laura down. Kal was right, maybe humans weren't meant to possess such power, she considered.

By now, Laura's Loracite bump up was starting to wear down. She'd been using a lot of energy destroying the newly built building. The excess Loracite in her system was starting to deplete itself. She assumed that all of the employees were out of the building.

The fire department was just coming on scene. The police department had blocked off the streets surrounding the plant, and so far no one had been injured, other than the two guards that Laura had tossed through walls. It was now or never, Laura thought.

Gold Wing yanked a natural gas pipe from the basement wall, and snapped it over her knee. The odorous gas quickly enveloped the enclosed room, two or three stories below ground. Laura grinned evilly as she tossed the broken pipes off into a corner.

Gold Wing laughed as she grabbed a random piece of computer equipment. It was a server's circuit motherboard. Laura held it above her head and cracked it in half. All she needed was a small spark. She got it. "Boom!" Gold Wing said as she laughed maniacally, the whole room exploded into a ball of flame. Laura was blown through the upper two floors.

She landed outside the collapsing building, coming down in a flaming heap near the center of the blacktopped parking lot. The blast showered the rescuers and firefighters with smoldering debris. Kara had reached Laura too late. The disturbed teen lay motionless, her clothing still burned.

Kara bolted down from the sky, landing quickly beside her fallen friend. "Laura?" She asked tearfully, feeling an odd attachment to the Meta Human girl. Laura had been her first true friend, other than Kal's crew. Kara knelt down beside Laura, brushing the singed hair from her face.

She listened for Laura's heartbeat. Even with her super hearing, Kara could tell that Gold Wing's heart rate was slow, but still going. "Girl Scout to Watchtower!" Kara frantically pressed the Com link that Oliver had given her. "Gold Wing is down! Repeating…Gold Wing is down!"

Chloe's panicked voice crackled back to her. "Girl Scout…how badly is she injured?" Kara made a quick inspection of the motionless teen's body with her x-ray vision. "No broken bones…mostly superficial burns, and bruises…but she's not conscious." Kara informed her.  
"Should I risk taking her to Metropolis General?" Super girl asked. "Negative! Take her back to the farm. We'll have Dr. Hamilton meet us there." Chloe directed. "Copy that, Watchtower." Kara concluded.

She glanced over Laura's prone form. Laura's Gold Wing outfit was partially shredded, revealing blistered and blackened skin, and her golden yellow mask had been cracked right down the middle of the nosepiece.

A small trickle of blood oozed from Laura's right ear and some more from her left nostril. Kara listened closely to Gold Wing's ragged breathing. "Laura! What did you do? And why?" She muttered, and scooped the troubled teen up into her arms and took flight.

In moments, Kara had brought Laura back to the Kent Farm and laid the girl out on Clark's bed. The MHX kids all hurried upstairs to see what had happened. Sedna was crying openly. "What did Laurie do?" She asked tearfully, as Tim knelt by his best friend's side.

"Laura made a mistake." Tim tried to explain to the young Meta human child. They all gathered around the bed and waited for Dr. Hamilton to show. Chloe had finally gotten hold of Clark at the Daily Planet. "Your girlfriend is in bad shape. Go to the farm." She text messaged him.

Clark had finally shaken himself free from Lois, and quickly zipped out the rooftop entrance to the Daily Planet. Lois had glanced down at her laptop, giving Clark the exit opportunity. She looked up and around the newsroom. "How does he do that?" She muttered angrily.

In seconds Clark was at the farm beside Laura. He frowned, grimacing at Gold Wing's shredded clothing and cosmetic injuries. "What happened?" He snapped at his cousin Kara. "I don't know, Kal. Tim seems to thing that Laura overdosed on her Loracite intake, and freaked out." She replied worriedly. "Maybe you were right, humans weren't equipped to handle that much power."

"Okay, everybody out!" Clark hissed. "You said that Dr. Hamilton was on his way?" Kara cast him a sharp glare. "Yes, Kal, we called Dr. Hamilton." Clark's eyes narrowed. "Go get him!" He ordered Kara angrily. She nodded, and zipped off. Clark carefully stripped off Laura's clothes, and covered her with a blanket. She did have extensive burns on her body.

Clark wasn't sure about Laura's healing power. The Gold Wing had never been seriously injured before. This was the first true test of her regenerative abilities. Clark examined one of the festering wounds closely, and it did appear to be lightening a bit, but what about her internal injuries? He wondered.

Kara flew back to the farm, with Dr. Hamilton in hand. She dropped him carefully in through the open window in Clark's bedroom, and circled back to enter it herself. Dr. Hamilton straightened out his medical clothes, but immediately excused himself, rushing to the nearest bathroom.

Kara stalked Clark. "Is she any better?" The blonde beauty inquired. "It's hard to tell." He replied warily. "What was going on with her?" He asked. Kara related the story about Laura being depressed, and angered by Rowland Chemical's actions with regard to the MHX kids.

"She knows better than to take the law into her own hands." Clark defended weakly. "Does she, Kal? Does she really? Don't forget that Laura is still only nineteen. She may still be acting irrationally." Kara argued. "I believe her powers are tied into her emotions."

Dr. Hamilton returned presently with a hastily thrown together medical kit in hand. "Are you okay?" Clark queried. "Yes, Clark. Just a little airsick, that's all. Now let's have a look at our patient." Hamilton said as he reached into the leather bag and pulled out a blood pressure monitor, and some other medical equipment.

"Pupils dilated." Hamilton said as he shone the light into Laura's still golden yellow eyes. "Discoloration." He murmured, examining Laura's skin wounds. "The burns are beginning to heal." He announced, as Clark and Kara relaxed. "You said that she was irrational?" he hinted.

"Even more so than a normal teen?" Hamilton joked as he glanced at Clark who was not amused. Kara quickly explained what she believed happened to her good friend. "I concur, Kara. Laura exhibits all the symptoms of a biological overdose, including a slight concussion." Hamilton pulled out a syringe to take a blood sample. "Clark, can you hold her down?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure." He admitted. "Maybe if Kara and I both hold her down?" Hamilton fidgeted nervously. "Yes, that would be best." Clark and Kara each took an arm. Hamilton wasn't sure if the needle would penetrate Laura's Loracite enhanced skin, but luckily it did.

He drew a quick blood sample, which shocked everyone in the room. Laura's blood was a light orange hue, obviously discolored by her Loracite level. "Watch it! She's coming out of it!" Clark warned. He and Kara had both heard Laura's heart rate increase.

Dr. Hamilton held the blood sample up to the sunlight, and sure enough, he noticed a definite shift in the color shading. "Incredible!" He remarked. "Do you see where the blood is a much brighter orange yellow near the base of the syringe?" Clark and Kara nodded.

"What does that mean?" Clark asked. "Oh no!" Hamilton gulped. "It means that Laura's blood is regenerating itself." Kara shrugged. "But that's good, right?" She was puzzled. "Except that if she comes out of it too fast…. It will be like an adrenaline surge."

The words were barely out of Hamilton's mouth, when Laura's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she bolted upright. "What the hell is going on here?" She yelled as she shoved Kara through the wall outside into the yard, and Clark through the walls in the bedroom and across the hallway.

Dr. Hamilton had enough sense to back away near the window, but nevertheless he was alone in the bedroom with an amped up Gold Wing. Laura vaulted out of bed in the blink of an eye. She was wearing only her black lace panties and bra. The wounds on her body had already healed.

"Who's there? Who's here? Where am I?" She shouted. "I can't see!" Laura was blinded. "Laura. Relax. I'm Dr. Hamilton, your boyfriend's physician. You need to calm down." Hamilton courageously lowered his voice and spoke calmly and deliberately. "You've had an accident."

Laura pivoted towards his voice as she stood in the center of the bedroom, spinning slightly. "An accident?" She snarled. "Yes. We believe that you accidentally overdosed on your Loracite." Hamilton kept her talking as Kara and Clark finally made their way back to the bedroom.

He gestured for them to keep their distance from Laura. "I can't see." Laura said again, in a less frightening tone. "It may be just a temporary problem." Hamilton guessed. His goal was to keep Laura from getting too excited and doing more damage and possibly killing or injuring him.  
"Laura." Clark's tone was stoic. "Clark?" She pivoted towards him. "You need to relax." Kara called from behind them. "K Girl?" Clark heard Laura's heart rate began to slow back down. They hoped that the worst was over. "Why am I so cold?" Laura wavered a bit.

"Uh…that's because you're wearing nothing but your underwear and a silly smile." Kara taunted, hoping to distract Laura and further calm her best friend down. Gold Wing actually did smile.

"Oh? Sorry. Did I go to an all night party and forget to come home?" Laura managed to joke. "No. But we'd appreciate it if you got right back into bed so I can examine you." Hamilton said. Laura reluctantly turned back the way she'd come. "Can't you see anything?" Kara asked.

"Mostly shadows and lights." Laura responded as Clark rushed to her side, and helped her into bed, covering her back up. Dr. Hamilton and Kara approached next. "You need to get some rest, because you're going to be helping me fix the walls you just threw Kara and I through." Clark said playfully, kissing her on the forehead. Dr. Hamilton reexamined Laura's eyes.

"I'm no Ophthalmologist, Laura, but I don't see any damage to the outside of your eyes. They're starting to pale in color, and head back to your usual sky blue hue." Clark stated. "Hopefully, you'll have no permanent damage." Laura waved her right arm around. "Ouch." She exclaimed.

"Ouch what?" Hamilton asked. "My arm hurts." Gold Wing shifted slightly. "My guess is that has something to do with flipping me through a wall." Kara teased. "It's just weird." Laura continued. "I haven't felt any pain since I was a little girl."

"The kids!" Laura yelped. "How are the kids?" Hamilton cast her a sidelong glance. "I assume that you mean the MHX kids." He quipped. "Don't worry about them." Kara consoled her. "I sent them back to Watchtower to harass Chloe and Oliver."

"I made a real ass of myself, didn't I?" Laura said sheepishly. "Don't worry about that right now." Clark rubbed her bruised ribcage. "Is your vision improving?" Dr. Hamilton continued to shine the light into her eyes. Laura began to blink repeatedly. "Yeah, I'm starting to see more detail." The injured superhero said as she turned to face Kara.

"Laura, I'm going to keep this blood sample for study." Hamilton explained, showing her the vial, which amazingly, was now completely yellow in color. "Okay." Laura agreed. "Emile, we can't let that blood sample get into anyone else's hands." Clark warned. "Can we study it in a more secure location?" Hamilton nodded. "Like where? I need supplies."

"You'll have them." Clark said with conviction. "Kara, you and I should give Emile blood samples as well. It's not as if we can just pop into Metropolis General for a check up." The alien beauty nodded. "Agreed. We can store spare samples at the ice fortress."

"It will take me a while to study Kryptonian physiology…perhaps a lifetime." Emile said in discouragement. "Oliver will take care of the financial end…but are you sure that you want to make that kind of a commitment?" Clark played devil's advocate with the young doctor.

"It would literally be my life's work." Emile said proudly. "Don't worry, we're not slave drivers. You can still have a more or less normal life." Kara commented. "Actually, the ice fortress hasn't been as safe as it should have been. I think that we should store the blood samples here in America. We'll mark them 'C' 'K' and 'L' and leave it at that." Clark offered.  
"Agreed." Kara stated. "Now what do we do about Laura?" Dr. Hamilton examined Gold Wing's eyes again. "They seem to be clearing up. Laura do you agree?" Laura shuddered. "I think so. I can make out some detail in your faces." Dr. Hamilton smiled. "That's good. I think we ought to try an old fashioned, low tech treatment." Kara and Clark exchanged puzzled glances.

"Clark, boil some tea, and place the tea bags, one on each of Laura's eyes." Emile snickered. "That's my grandmother's suggestion by the way." Laura laughed. "Whatever works, Doc." She quipped, obviously in better spirits. Clark quickly complied. Naturally, he didn't bother waiting for the water to boil, simply heated it up with his vision.

"Thanks, Doc." Laura said as she placed the bags on her eyes. "Now, as for you two. Blood samples please." Emile ordered, handing two vials to Clark. "You'll have to poke each other with the needles." Kara and Clark followed suit, each uttering an "ouch" as the needle punctured them.

"You're lucky Dr. Hamilton didn't ask for any other types of samples." Laura joshed as Dr. Hamilton snickered. "Actually…" He grabbed two more small empty, glass jars. Gold Wing laughed hysterically.


	14. Chapter 14: Angel of Destruction4

**Chapter 14** cont'd

Sparks, Sedna, Flicker, Blaze, Solara, Dash, and Chase all sat quietly within the Watchtower Base. Chloe and Oliver paced nervously across the floor. "What do we do with them?" Oliver had asked for the third time. Clark and Kara had sped in just then.

"How's Laura?" Chloe asked immediately. "She's fine. She's resting now." Clark replied. "Did she give any reason for freaking out like that, and destroying Rowland Chemicals' buildings?" Oliver grilled. "She says that she overdosed on Loracite." Kara added. "I'm not so sure."

This was an important criticism of Gold Wing by her best friend. "Hmmm. Clark, what do you suggest?" Oliver was still looking for answers. "I can keep Laura by my house for observation." Clark volunteered as Chloe snickered. "I bet you will." She playfully sniped.

"The MHX children will have to go back to Geneseo." Clark decided, after ignoring Chloe's jab. "But we don't want to go back." Little Sedna whined. "Terre, Strife Havoc, Bear, and Raptor are mean to us." Clark rubbed his square jaw. "What about the rest of you kids? Do you want to go back?" Oliver questioned. "Well, all our stuff is there." Dash said, logically.

"We can come back and visit when Laura feels better, right?" Solara half pleaded. "Sure, you kids are always welcome here." Chloe said sincerely. She hated to lose track of such potentially powerful individuals. It was obvious that no one was prepared to handle them.

"Okay, we'll take them back." Oliver concluded. "Aww!" Blaze protested loudly. "Uh, Ollie, you'd better rethink that." Chloe warned. "Huh?" Oliver gawked at his new girlfriend. "Think about it. You and I are defenseless against the MHX kids, should they choose to be rude."

Oliver caught Chloe's veiled warning. "Kara and Clark can see the children home." She added. "Okay kids, let's go." Kara forced a smile. Dash was right behind her, and Blaze immediately sidled up to Clark. "We should drive them back. It would be less conspicuous." Clark said.

"No flights, eh Kal?" Kara needled her cousin. "No, not just yet." Clark deflected. The whining MHX kids picked up their sparse souvenirs and piled into Laura's Aunt Wanda's van. Clark and Kara sat up front, as the children sprawled together in the back uncomfortably. The ride could be as much as a few hours. This would try everyone's patience.

Back at Watchtower, Oliver had convened another meeting of his fledgling superheroes league. "This is a potentially devastating problem, my friends." Oliver began. "The twenty five surviving MHX kids could literally take over the world, without proper guidance."

Chloe gulped, as she realized the magnitude of the problem. "Can we get to them first, before anyone else?" Courtney asked. "They seemed to be attached to Gold Wing, viewing her like a big sister, but that bond probably wouldn't be enough to control them." Chloe reasoned.

"We'd need to experiment on the kids, and see if there's some kind of natural way to limit or eliminate their supernatural powers." Hawkman suggested. "I've gotten some quick DNA swipes from the kids." Chloe informed them. "I've sent them ahead to Dr. Hamilton."

"It's a long shot, but it appears to be the only one we have." Oliver explained. "We're really in it this time." He continued. "Rowland Chemicals, LuthorCorp, our American government, and possibly even foreign governments would love to get their hands on these kids."

"What can we do?" Canary asked worriedly. "Maybe if we each took responsibility for some MHX kids, you know, take them under our wings, so to speak, we could keep them on the straight and narrow." Chloe suggested.

"In theory, that could work…" Oliver contributed. "But how many of us are ready for parenthood?" Unfortunately, he was met by a deafening silence. By now, Clark, Kara, and the MHX kids were well on their way to Geneseo.


	15. Chapter 15: Return to Geneseo

_**Chapter 15: Return to Geneseo**_

The long trip to Geneseo had cost everyone dearly. Blaze had directed Clark how to get there. Kara was the first to notice the danger. "Kal, there seems to have been some kind of a fire." She announced as they approached the burnt and dilapidated iron fence and gate that had indicated Geneseo's whereabouts. The 'No Trespassing: Government Land' sign was still smoldering.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Clark swallowed hard as he spoke. Dash offered to use his blinding speed to scout ahead. "No." Clark said sternly. "Let's all stay together." Kara brushed her long blonde hair away from her left ear. She was concentrating on the area's sounds. "Clark, it's way too quiet around here." She remarked. "I was just thinking that." He agreed.

Clark drove the business van up the graveled road. They could see the Geneseo Compound's buildings looming over the horizon. They were still smoldering. Wisps of black smoke curled high into the air. "They've been attacked!" Kara exclaimed. "We don't know that." Clark argued.

"Then why is the end of the access road a big burned out pothole?" Flicker asked warily. Clark had to stop the van. The teenage mutant girl was right. This was no ordinary fire.  
As if on cue, three black helicopters cranked up their engines, and soared over the top of the blackened hulks that used to be the compound's eatery and supply storage area. They'd been silent. The helicopters rose into a roughly arrowhead style formation.

They were heading straight for the van. "They've seen us!" Dash sounded panicky. "Let's not give them any trouble." Clark warned. "We got lost, and weren't paying attention to where we were going." Kara scowled at her cousin. "Kal, that's too lame!" She snapped. "I say we split up and get lost on the property."

Before Clark could argue the point, the lead helicopter fired a shot above the top of the van. "That was a warning, Kal!" Kara said excitedly. "Okay, we're turning the van around." Clark restarted it and pulled a quick three point turn, heading back the way they came.

The helicopters would have none of it, firing randomly at both ditches that ran alongside the gravel access road. Clark ignored the strafing, and cranked up the speed on the van, though he already assumed that this would be a futile maneuver. The helicopter at the right flank fired a round of heavy bullets that popped near the van, kicking gravel up at them.

"I'm going to take them out!" Kara snarled. "No!" Clark couldn't stop the super girl from yanking the door off the van and leaping up at the fast approaching helicopters. "Damn it!" Clark cursed as he slid the van into a stop. "Now we're in it!" He added angrily. "Kids, stay down! Let Kara and I handle this." Clark ordered, and jumped out of the van, running into hyper speed.

Kara soared up at the helicopters, surprising them as she corkscrewed through the air. They broke formation, and forgot about the kids in the van entirely. Clark super leaped onto the runner of the lead helicopter, causing the weight to shift, and the chopper fuselage turned at a forty-five degree angle. The pilot maintained control, but the two gunners lost their footing and fell towards the other side, bouncing painfully against the opposing chopper wall.

Kara physically grabbed one helicopter by the runner, tearing it off. She used the runner like a baseball bat, and whacked the side of the fuselage. The chopper veered downward. The gunmen fell out and into the foliage below. Kara yanked the pilot out of the cockpit and tossed him atop a pile of wooden debris from the fire. She glanced around, and threw the chopper into the creek.

It exploded on impact, showering the area with metal shrapnel. The last helicopter was firing at Kara from behind. The four-inch long bullets bounced harmlessly off of her back and buttocks. All this did was infuriate the alien beauty more.

Kara somersaulted in midair and flew at ramming speed towards the assault chopper. Her arms extended in front of her, Kara's intent was to blast the helicopter engine with her heat vision, causing it to overheat and stall. Before she could complete that maneuver, several small fireballs hit the chopper's fuselage. At first they bounced harmlessly off it's armored shell.

Two or three of the fireballs had made their way through the open helicopter doors, impacting the bulkhead behind the gunmen. The electrical system on the chopper suddenly shorted out, as waves of arcing electricity fried the control panels. The children had left the van and begun their own assault on the mysterious black helicopters.

Blaze and Flicker stood atop the business van. The powerful mutant girls assailed the chopper mercilessly. It was all Kara could do to rescue the helicopter passengers' moments before it hit the ground and exploded. She flew back and forth, dropping the soldiers clumsily into the rough foliage beside the burned out walls of the main compound.

There, an angry Chase, Terre, and Chimera met the soldiers. The mutant children would rip the soldiers to shreds if Clark and Kara couldn't stop them. Other children began to gather. Clark, meanwhile, had taken the time to check out the occupants of the helicopter he'd boarded.

During his visual perception shift, everything seemed to slow to a stop. The men in the craft wore black outfits with bulletproof vests, but none had any insignias designating rank or affiliation.

Clark had to assume that the attackers were either part of Randolph Rowland's group, or the American government's anti mutant Black Ops division. Neither group was to be trifled with, but they'd bitten off more than they could chew this time, by attacking the MHX children.

Clark and Kara now had to stop two wars, one between the MHX kids themselves, and another between the helicopter assailants and the mutant children. As powerful as the young Kryptonians were, could even they stop this melee without taking any lives? Clark wondered silently.

Clark swung the helicopter over the swampy area near the quickly flooding compound. He shook the chopper violently, causing the soldiers to slide out and into the murky bog. Then, he dropped the helicopter on the dry ground, causing it to flip over on its side. The blades sheared off and scattered debris over the western edge of the area.

Apparently, whoever had attacked the MHX compound intended to destroy any evidence of its existence, by first burning the structures, and then flooding the whole plain, hoping that the building foundations would simply sink into the thick mud. They hadn't counted on resistance by the MHX kids. Clark speculated that they might have thought the Geneseo complex was deserted.  
In any event, he and Kara had to put a stop to all this right now, but how? Clark's thoughts were interrupted by Kara's pleas for help. He hyper sped over to the group of MHX kids. Clark was caught off guard by what he saw. His cousin was surrounded by a group of the MHX kids.

The mean spirited Strife Havoc stood toe to toe with Kara. He was flanked by Blade, Raptor, and Wraith. Two of the mutant boys were making obscene verbal threats to Kara. The older female, Raptor, was no better. Her eyes glowed a bright yellow as she assumed an attack position. Raptor was a feral, meaning that she had hunting and tracking skills far superior to a normal human's.

One male, Blade, waved a silver sword menacingly towards Kara's ribcage. It wasn't likely that the sword would actually do any damage to Kara's dense body structure, but she was trying to limit the aggressive stances of the boys. Another male, Wraith, disappeared briefly, reappearing behind Clark and was joined by the much larger male, named Bear, and the slim witch, Gothika.

Clark and Kara's friends, Dash, Flicker, Blaze, and the youngsters, Solara, Sedna, and Sparks, all yelled and argued with the remaining MHX kids. The oldest girl, Psychee, leapt agilely into the middle of the fray and stepped in between Kara and Strife. "Shut up! All of you! You're giving me a headache." She flipped her lengthy blonde hair to one side.

"Do you want me to give you all a headache?" Psychee threatened, and to emphasize her point, she put her hands to her head and concentrated. Immediately, most of the MHX kids silenced and backed away. Strife snarled and cursed, but didn't give up an inch of ground. Another girl with dark, short hair, joined Pscychee. She glared at Strife and let loose with a high-pitched wail.

The girl, called Syren, seemed to possess a similar talent to Black Canary. Clark and Kara winced first, as the high-pitched squeal blasted their sensitive hearing. Away from all of the activity, in the swampy area, the soldiers were being hunted. A few of the mutant children stalked them.

Skyye, the aggressive female with the power of flight, circled the swamp like a hawk searching for prey. On the ground, the male, fire-hurling Chimera entered the area where Clark had dumped the helicopter occupants. In the trees, the male, Shadow, lurked along the perimeter in case the soldiers headed that way. But it was the female water dweller, Shimmer, which located them first.

Were it the nasty tempered Chimera that primarily found them, the soldiers would be turned into burned corpses without a moment's hesitation. It was their fortune, that Shimmer, and Skyye, the more moderate females, had reached them. Shadow dropped down from the trees, and grabbed two of the stunned soldiers, as they struggled through the murky swamp.

Shimmer, with lightning speed, dragged two more through the watery mud. They resisted the slim female, but in the water, Shimmer's strength was far superior to normal humans. Like AC /Aquaman, Shimmer seemed to draw her power from the water. Chimera, fireball in hand, snickered as the soldiers approached.

Back at the edge of the MHX complex, Clark and Kara were surrounded by about twenty-four of the teenage mutant children. Clark prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best.


	16. Chapter 16: Stand Off

MHX – **Standoff**

Kara and Clark were surrounded by the mutant children, and the female named Syren let loose with an ear splitting whistle, making Clark and Kara wince. The other children hustled towards the standoff. They forgot about injuring the soldiers any further. No one wanted to hear Syren's wail again.

Solara and Sedna, the two young females, had crowded next to Clark, while Dash, the teen male, stood beside Kara, nearly matching her height. Psychee, the oldest girl, had taken up a position squarely between the MHX kids and the Kryptonians. As usual, Terre Collin and Strife Havoc were looking for a fight. "You!" Strife shouted, pointing at Clark. "You brought them here, the destroyers!"

"We did not!" Kara defended coarsely. "They were here before we entered the Geneseo Complex. Who were they?" The Super Girl hoped to get a logical answer from the eldest teen. "They were the Old Ones!" The witchlike Gothika accused. Her big brown eyes suddenly flared bright yellow. "The Old Ones that had killed our parents, and abducted our friends. More will come, you'll see!"

Clark silently guessed that Gothika was right. Either Rowland Chemicals or the U.S. Government Black Ops Division would never give up hunting their precious young creations. It was the nightmare scenario that had kept Clark's earth parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent from revealing his existence to the world. Even in the best scenarios, the MHX children would become lab rats and advanced weapons.

"Let them come!" Terre Collin laughed maniacally. "They will get this and more!" He clapped his hands together, causing a sound shockwave that echoed throughout the area. For emphasis, Terre bent down and punched the ground, and it shook mightily with his impact, nearly knocking Starr Fox, a teen female with lengthy red hair from a tree branch. Starr Fox vaulted down near Dash, landing gracefully beside him. She circled the new arrivals like a stalking lioness.

"There has to be a better way, Terre." Clark tried to reason. "Kara and I know what it's like to be different." Blaze had rejoined the group, nervously playing with some still flaming leaves she'd picked up. "Clark speaks the truth, everyone." The fire wielding teen girl announced loudly.

"Really? What can you do?" Starr Fox goaded, as she stood next to Clark, coming up to nearly his shoulder in height. "You'd better show them." Solara urged. Clark didn't like to show off, but in this case, a demonstration of their abilities might help to smooth over the situation.

Kara vaulted high into the air, and began flying formations above and around the startled MHX kids. Skyye and Raptor, the two other MHX kids with the ability to defy gravity, leapt up into the air, followed Kara's moves, and matched them exactly. Little Sedna applauded the impromptu aerial show.

Clark used his hyper speed to run in between the kids and around the perimeter of the group. He kept himself visible enough where Dash could follow his directional changes. The high speed teen boy matched Clark's turns as closely as possible. Solara cheered the racing boys on. "Hmph!" Strife scoffed. "So you two can keep up with us." He scowled. "That's not the same as fighting us. All of us!"

"Why do we have to fight each other?" Kara asked from just above the lead troublemakers. Skyye and Raptor flanked the Super Girl, matching her speed and trajectory. "Why can't we all just be friends?" Dash pitched as he zipped in between Strife, Terre, and Bear. "Because they're old!" Terre Collin grumbled. Gothika recited an ancient magical phrase, and an illusionary dragon appeared beside her.

The younger children applauded the illusion, feeding Gothika's increasingly large ego. "This dragon is old. Do you want to fight it?" She instigated. "It's not real." Bear complained. "Isn't it?" Gothika smirked evilly. She uttered another incantation, and the golden illusionary dragon appeared to breathe fire at him. The flames were very real, and the oversized male teen ducked his head from the heat.

Clark and Dash stopped their race and edged back towards Solara and Sedna. Kara, Skyye, and Raptor flew back down towards the group, carefully avoiding the fire spewing dragon illusion. Shimmer, the water powered female, spread her hands apart, and appeared to shove a huge deluge of clear cool water on the illusionary dragon, dousing the flames, and turning the apparition to smoke.

Gothika snorted angrily, but created no further magic tricks. "First, we need to get the soldiers out of here." Clark urged the group, who were beginning to move around in random patterns, as if trying to decide what to do next, or whether to listen to Clark and Kara's offers.

"Why don't we simply kill them, like they did to our parents?" Terre asked darkly. Kara sensed no emotion from the young mutant, as if he had no feelings. "We don't kill people!" Clark snapped angrily. "There is no 'we' old one." Strife Havoc said menacingly. The kids began muttering to each other.

"You can't stop all of us." Gothika sneered as she spoke. Clark gulped. "No, we can't." He admitted. "The question is: Do you want to spend your whole lives being chased by the authorities, like the police, the soldiers, or the creators of Geneseo? Would your parents have wanted that?" Clark lectured. The only hope for them, America, and even the world, hinged on the MHX kids response to his challenge.

"Why do you care, Old One?" Wraith asked as he materialized beside Terre and Strife. "I care about everyone." Clark tried to diffuse the situation, speaking slowly but firmly to the group. Instantly, the younger MHX kids began to edge over next to Clark and Kara. The mutant children were indeed choosing up sides, as if they were about to play a sports game.

Terre, Wraith, Bear, and Strife all stared daggers at the youthful MHX kids. Psychee stood nearly toe to toe with Terre, facing him down. "Clark and Kara are right. We can't spend our lives running from the other Old Ones." She stated loudly, flipping her lengthy blonde hair back behind her shoulders.

"Look around! The Old Ones destroyed our homes!" Strife gestured towards the still smoldering buildings, the water damaged personal belongings scattered throughout the site, and the fire and explosives destruction of the formerly pristine trees, shrubs, and flowers of the complex.

"Strife is right!" Clark countered loudly, startling Kara. "What these old ones did was wrong. You have the right to be angry with them. Don't judge all of the adults in the world by these bad actions." He reasoned, winning over a few more MHX kids. "We can call the police, give them descriptions of the attackers, send the soldiers back to their supervisors, and file lawsuits." Kara continued the speech.

"Back home, we have laws." Clark lectured. "No one is above those laws, not even Kara and I." He kept his plea simple, so that the youngest kids could understand it. "What do we care about your laws?" Terre, feeling the kids turning against him, was becoming more belligerent.

"You all have to choose." Clark ignored the older kids with the bad attitudes, focusing his gaze on the other, more moderate mutant children, especially the teen girls. Psychee held up her hands. "You heard Clark, let's take a vote." She offered. "All of those in favor of joining Clark and Kara, hold up your hand."

The MHX kids reluctantly complied. Clark counted the hands, and they added up to nineteen plus Psychee. Predictably, the older boys and a couple of the older girls kept their hands down. The vote was unofficially twenty to six. Clark breathed a quick sigh of relief, but that still left six powerful MHX kids to their own devices. Someone like Lex or Rex Rowland would make use of any of the destructive kids.

Clark and Kara were disappointed. They wanted to leave with all of the mutant children. Unfortunately, that would end up being the best he could get out of the challenge. "Please, won't you reconsider?" Kara begged as she made eye contact with the holdouts, specifically the teenage boys.

The detractors were Terre Collin, Strife Havoc, Gothika, Bear, Wraith, and Raptor. Only the oversized Bear flinched when Kara made eye contact with him. She would still hold out hope that the boy with the superior strength would one day come to his senses.

"Fine!" Psychee snarled. "If you guys won't join us, then you can stay here and fight the Old Ones by yourself. They'll be here soon." Suddenly, a new being zipped into the thick of the debate. Gold Wing, also known as Laura Lake, joined Clark and Kara, startling the MHX kids with her appearance.

She was wearing her full Gold Wing outfit, standing toe to toe with Strife, and placed her hands on her shapely hips. "Whoa! Cool!" Little Sparks praised Gold Wing's outfit, unaware that she was really his friend Laura in disguise. "You better rethink your attitudes." Gold Wing said through her voice synthesizer. "The soldiers are coming back with reinforcements!"

"How close are they?" Kara prodded. "They're not more than ten minutes out. There are more than a dozen helicopters, two dozen armored vehicles, and about as many heavily armed goons in black SUVS on the way." Laura answered. Clark frowned. "This is going to be a bloodbath!" He stated angrily.

"Let them come!" Terre boasted. "We'll kill them all, and cut off their heads, and stick them on poles to warn everyone else away from our land!" Gold Wing got into Terre's face. "Ew! That's sick!" She commented. "Genius! I don't care how strong you are, a bullet is a bullet. You'll be just as dead as anyone else without superior powers!" Laura chastised.

Sedna, Solara, and Sparks all began to whimper, sticking close to Clark and Kara. "Who are you again?" Bear questioned Laura. "I'm called Gold Wing, and I have special abilities as well." She explained. Terre and Strife frowned as they checked out Laura from head to toe.

Laura was wearing her black eye mask, gold headband, black leather jacket, gold midriff bearing t-shirt, black leather pants, and black leather, low heeled boots. Her telltale twin golden blonde strands of hair were also visible, as they rimmed both sides of her thin face.

"Either, we hightail it out of here, or be prepared to fight two small armies of these so called Old Ones." Laura addressed everyone. Psychee wasn't convinced that Gold Wing was legit, sensing duplicity from the young superhero's mind. Psychee wasn't a true telepath, but she could 'read' people's thoughts and emotions, much the same way a sophisticated lie detector machine could.

The young mutant was just now beginning to use her extraordinary abilities. Psychee had the potential to be the most powerful MHX kid of them all. Right now, the mutant children were just a bunch of ragtag experiments that were still in various stages of development. Should they unite under a leader, like Psychee, they could literally change or destroy the world.

Gods forbid if the MHX kids were to unquestioningly follow Terre Collin or Strife Havoc, because they could take over the planet, much like Clark and Kara's Kandorian associates uniting under General Zod. The Kryptonians had to convince the MHX kids to remain peaceful, or they would have to destroy them, and Clark was determined not to let that happen.

Kara and Laura silently wondered if they could control or destroy the MHX kids at all, yet they had to try. The goal now was to save as many lives as possible. "Gather up all of the soldiers and bring them to me…alive!" Terre Collin ordered the young mutants. Strife, Bear, Gothika, and Wraith immediately complied, racing the other kids to the injured humans. Raptor wasn't sure, so she quietly stood by.

Shortly after the kids returned with the angry and dazed soldiers, Clark and Kara noticed that a few of the MHX kids had stayed towards the rear of the group, not wanting to call attention to themselves. "Who are those five?" Clark asked Solara and pointed towards the few kids chatting near the back of the assembly. "Oh, we rarely see them." The young girl informed him.

"Bertrand and Emma are what Terre called geeks, I guess they do something with the computers that we had, like Chloe and Oliver did." She continued. "You have access to computers?" Kara questioned. "Sure, but Terre and Strife never let us near them." Solara replied.

"Crystal uses ice and cold as a weapon." The girl added. "She's not very friendly. Dagby and Raven just fight all the time, you know, with knives, bows and arrows, sticks, and stones." Kara scowled. "Charming!" She commented. Clark seemed to recall some similar abilities with the early meteor freaks that he and Chloe encountered. This made him wonder if the MHX kids were somehow related to them.


End file.
